The Way of the Wind
by just enough
Summary: ANBU Captain Uchiha Itachi had things well planned out, until a medic-nin with ridiculous hair went and made herself interesting. Sakura insisted she was just doing her job, but Itachi didn't quite see it that way. Non-massacre. Sakura/Itachi.
1. How Interesting

The day she splintered an oak inches away from Sasuke's head was the first time Itachi bothered to take note of her.

Oh, he had seen her before. Sasuke's little pink haired teammate who he had seen cry more times than he cared to remember; her and the loud-mouthed brat who held the fox demon behind his navel. It had been years since he'd seen them interact as a team, though, with Kakashi taking a personal interest in one particular student and the remaining two slipping away to other forms of instruction. Besides a passing notice of who his brother was spending his time with, Itachi hadn't particularly cared about his teammates except that they kept Sasuke alive.

But the way she shattered the tree made him _look_ at her. Her face had reflected a challenge, her posture demanded attention from someone she obviously still held in high esteem. Itachi had been interested in his brother's reaction of wide-eyed surprise and had made a note about her obvious improvement. It appeared that his brother might stay alive a little longer than he had suspected without his help after all.

It was another two years before he bothered to pay any actual attention to her and then it hadn't been his choice. For some reason, the Hokage had decided to send her pink-haired apprentice on a mission with his team. Forcing him to deal with her whether he wanted to or not.

"For practice," Tsunade had said a twist to the corner of her lips that Itachi hadn't particularly liked. He could have argued that ANBU missions were not places for pink haired girls, even if they could splinter a tree with nothing but chakra and their knuckles. Little girls who couldn't handle themselves wouldn't come home, and the Hokage knew that.

It wasn't until Shisui was down and poisoned that he learned the real reason behind Haruno Sakura's involvement in the mission. And it wasn't until they were all home, and somewhat in one piece, that he realized she had sparked a faint, niggling curiosity in the back of his mind.

Despite having just come in, Sakura refused to just sit down until she had made certain, _personally_, that every member of her team was going to be fine. She was a medic, and it was a matter of personal pride that her team came home safe.

The poison Shisui had received was rare, iron-based, and she had been forced to perform a very specialized, very dangerous procedure in the field. She had extracted the majority of the poison, but she was concerned about the remnants remaining in his blood stream. She'd handed the poison sample she'd kept over to Shizune and was planning to head to the labs to help with the antidote as soon as she had checked on her remaining two team members.

Inuzuka Hana was relaxing; her dog curled by the foot of her bed. The jounin tracker had pushed herself to the limit and was suffering from mild chakra exhaustion, but Sakura's scan proved that was all that was wrong with her.

"How are you feeling, Hana-san?" Sakura asked.

Hana grinned at her, "Just fine, medic. I've got your nurses all scurrying to bring me my favorite flavor of jello. You'd better go give the Captain the clear to go before he burns down my curtain with his glare."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "As Captain, I'm sure Uchiha-san appreciates that I'm following procedure," she pitched her voice to be heard. "Inured shinobi are to be handled in the order of their severity, and I want to personally make sure my team is fit."

She winked at Hana and lowered her voice, "It has nothing to do with running us for two days straight without rest on our way to the check point."

Hana's laughter followed Sakura around the curtain as she steeled herself to face the intense gaze of Uchiha Itachi. She had always considered Itachi to be a more intense version of his brother, harder and rougher around the edges. The past few days she had learned just how sharp those edges could be, but she had also learned why so many ANBU finagled their schedules to be included with his unit when there was an opening.

He really was brilliant.

There was no expression on his face as she pulled back the curtain. It had taken her a few days to pick up the knack, but she'd learned to judge his eyes instead of his jaw or mouth to guess his mood. His eyes were his most dangerous weapon and he let them do most of his talking. She hadn't been able to put her finger on if it was a habit of his, or an intimidation tactic. Knowing the captain in front of her, she figured it was a bit of both.

"Captain," she'd picked up the form of address on their third day out, and he had yet to correct her. Somehow, calling him Uchiha-sama seemed to be admitting defeat in these conditions. Here she was on even footing, if not better. "Let's take a look at you."

Those eyes narrowed a bit as she studied the line that had once been a cut along his temple, and her fast but thorough scan showed that while his chakra levels were low, they weren't nearly as low as Hana's had been.

"You should be fine to leave in the morning." Sakura informed him as she jotted down a few notes on his chart.

"I am capable of leaving now."

"That's probably true," Sakura said without looking up. "Except for the fact that we're dealing with an unknown poison, you pushed yourself almost to exhaustion and that if I keep you overnight I can bully Shinsu into staying where we put him as well."

"Is that so?" Itachi's voice was cool and if she hadn't been looking for it she would never have heard the faint bite to his words.

"We both know if that if you bothered to rest between missions, your chakra reserves never would have gotten this low in the first place. Tsunade's actually been quite concerned with your health," Sakura told him, lowering her lashes to hide her eyes. "She thinks she might have been pushing you to hard. Falling over would just prove her point, don't you think?"

The vague threat had those dark eyes narrowing even further before he wiped away all expression from his features.

"Hn."

"I'll tell your family they can see you in a few moments." Sakura promised him as she set the clipboard down. Leaning forward she sharpened her smile. "If you consider pulling a Kakashi on me, I'll have Tsunade take you off the roster for the next month."

His flat expression was answer enough and she nodded before turning. "Have a nice night, Captain."

Itachi watched his brother's teammate turn to walk away. It seemed as if she as if she had no intention of checking herself into the hospital for the night. Ignoring her instructions, he switched to the basic form of the sharingan in ordered to get a better read on her chakra signature. It appeared that although it was significantly depleted, she still had just less than half her chakra left.

Perhaps this was a result of the chakra control he occasionally heard Sasuke muttering about?

Itachi was well aware that the mednin in front of him had developed a considerable amount of chakra, but it was still far less than his own. To be able to manage every task with precisely the amount of chakra needed and no more was indeed… efficient.

"Haruno."

She paused, and turned to glance at him over her shoulder.

He stared at her and noted that she did not hesitate to look him in the eyes, even with his sharingan active. Her only response was a frown, and she opened her mouth in what would inevitably be a reproof, but he cut her off. "How is Shisui?"

Her frown deepened. "I told you before. I removed most of the poison from his system. Even if discovering the antidote for the poison takes several days, he will still live long enough to take it. But I don't think it will take that long. I'm on my way to the labs now, and if this poison stumps me for more than a day, Tsunade-shishou will have my head. Shisui will be fine, Captain. You won't be, if you don't turn off that sharingan."

Itachi let the sharingan flicker out of existence. Haruno had the upper hand for as long as he was in the hospital, and he was accepting of this fact. For now. Better to let her have her way now, when it was a simple thing to give than to push her temper when she clearly had the advantage of her teacher's ear. She wouldn't always have the leverage to hold him.

Closing his eyes, he leaned back against his pillow. The door to his room opened and closed quietly, and only then did he let his mask drop. No, his brother's little teammate wouldn't always have the advantage, and he would enjoy pushing until he was satisfied that he had whatever it was about her that had caught his attention categorized and forgotten.

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AN: This is an idea that grabbed hold of us and we just _had _to write it. Due credit all of the non-massacre fics for our inspiration. We hope you all enjoy it!


	2. Just Like a Poison

Here is chapter two!

Glad that so many people seemed to enjoy chapter one, and we hope you continue to enjoy chapter two.

**_Just Enough_**

* * *

_5 Years Ago  
_Forest of Death

"Don't you dare Sasuke," Sakura hissed, fingers clutching even tighter against the kunai in her hand. "Don't you dare go near him, don't let him touch you."

Part of her was screaming to go to his side and hold him back if she had to, but she couldn't leave Naruto's unconscious body. Her brain was working fast, working over every strategy, every possible way to get away and to get help. This wasn't some genin attempting to gain chunin status. This was something else, and her stomach was twisting itself into a knot of fear and terror. She couldn't fight this.

Sasuke's jaw was clenched tight, sharingan bright in his gaze. He was bleeding from the hit he had taken earlier and she could see lines of strain along his mouth and eyes. He knew that he was the only one who could try to fight what was before them and she could tell by the way he wasn't looking at her that he didn't think he could win.

Swallowing back her tears, Sakura was forced to wait to see what would happen next.

"Sakura…"

"No," she snapped.

"Stay out of the way, Sakura."

She wanted to throw her kunai at him, but it was the only defense she had.

"_Sasuke_!"

There was no flash of chakra, no warning. There was empty space, and then suddenly he was standing between Sasuke and that…monster with a man's face.

Sakura only saw his back. Long, flowing hair covered any symbol that would have been stitched onto the standard ANBU wear. She had no idea who it was, and she didn't care, all she knew was that help had arrived.

Sasuke suffered no such ignorance. "_Aniki_. What are you doing here?"

Itachi ignored him. He was standing casually; his hands loose at his sides and he still managed to give the impression of a coiled spring. This was the first time Sakura had seen the Uchiha prodigy, and her grip on her kunai tightened. There was more going on here than what she understood. She had to protect Naruto. She had to get Sasuke away from that man, that monster, who'd taunted him and offered him power.

She shifted her gaze away from Uchiha Itachi to focus on Sasuke, _willing_ him to fall back, to regroup around their fallen teammate. But it was almost all she could do to stand under the gathering chakra as Itachi and that monster combated each other silently.

"Orochimaru," Itachi said tonelessly. "I told you to stay away from my little brother."

The monster-man laughed, "I couldn't help it, Itachi-kun. He is such a tasty little bite."

That disgusting tongue slithered out and Orochimaru licked his lips. "His ambition makes him so…delicious."

"I can see why you had to leave Konoha to find fulfillment for your ambition, Orochimaru. You really are very stupid."

Orochimaru made a noise that sounded like steam hitting stone.

"Go back to your team, little brother."

Sasuke's spine had straightened, fists clenching at his side, but before he could retort Itachi had disappeared. The tree Orochimaru had been leaning against shattered under the force of Itachi's attack and the monster howled.

They couldn't get involved in this. Pushing herself up, Sakura looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" Her voice was shrill and too high but she didn't care. It caught his attention.

"We have to get Naruto out of here!"

He just stared at her and she struggled to keep from falling apart. Chakra was thick in the area and she could she could feel the way Itachi and Orochimaru were fighting each other. It was getting difficult to breath.

"Sasuke, please!"

Just as she thought she was going to have to haul Naruto out of the way by herself Sasuke moved, settling beside her to grasp one of his arms.

"Thank you."

Sasuke just grunted as she bent to lift the other half of their fallen comrade. Slinging Naruto's arm over her shoulder, she bunched her free hand in the back of Sasuke's shirt. He didn't say anything, just looked to her for confirmation that she was ready before they leapt into the trees.

The sound of the battle faded as they retreated deeper into the Forest of Death. The fog of chakra expanding from Itachi and Orochimaru's battle clouded Sakura's senses completely, and they ran until the air was a little lighter and it became easier to breathe.

Carefully, they eased Naruto down against a tree and Sasuke took a few steps forward to secure the perimeter.

"Sasuke-kun… that was Orochimaru." Sakura couldn't help but shiver at the name. It was a dark name, tainted with evil and betrayal and it held more power over Academy students than the boogey-man. "Should we tell someone? I mean…he shouldn't be in Konoha. The Hokage should know about this. That's more important than getting any scrolls or being made chunin, we have to protect the village—"

Sakura abruptly shut her mouth. She was babbling. Sasuke-kun knew all this. But shouldn't they go do _something_?

"Don't bother," Sasuke didn't even bother turning around. His hands were clenched into fists, flexing at his sides. "Itachi's there."

Well, yes, she agreed that Itachi was very certainly _there_, but he was only one shinobi against one of the legendary sannin. Against _Orochimaru_.

He could be coming back for them at any time. Oh kami… Sakura shuddered, remembering the killing intent in Orochimaru's eyes.

"But Sasuke-kun—"

Sasuke whirled around to face her, his sharingan twirling, "I said _don't bother_. Just take care of the dobe. We'll be moving soon."

Sakura stared at him with wide eyes, desperately attempting to understand what was going through his mind. He was right though, and dealing with Naruto would give her something to concentrate on other than how badly her hands were shaking. Swallowing hard, she hid a sniffle by reaching for her pack.

Biting her lip, she pulled out the roll of bandages she had packed and set about dealing with Naruto's head wound and the cut on his ribs. Sasuke was silent as she worked and she took a deep breath, rubbing her cheeks with the back of her hands.

"Come here."

The bright red of Sasuke's eyes clashed with hers and she took another breath.

"I need to check that cut."

"It's fine." He dismissed her, turning his back.

"Sasuke," the voice was quiet and low and Sakura spun, kunai firmly in hand as she crouched over Naruto. The air in her lungs dispelled in a huge breath as she saw Sasuke's brother. There was blood on his face that she didn't think was his and the sharingan was spinning in his eyes as he took in the area.

Sasuke's hands clenched into fists so hard and quick, Sakura winced. She straightened up from her attack stance when she recognized their rescuer, but she did not loosen her grip on her kunai. There was more going on here than she understood.

Sasuke shifted so he could face Itachi fully. He had moved to stand slightly in front of her now, so she only saw a corner of Sasuke's profile and the fan spread across his back.

"Itachi. What happened to Orochimaru?" Sasuke's voice was low and clipped, and it was obvious where he got that tone from.

A strange conflict of emotion passed across Itachi's face. One corner of his mouth twitched up even as his eyes narrowed. "He ran away. He won't be back any time soon."

"You have blood on your face," Sasuke said.

"You have a cut on your arm. Come here."

Sasuke stiffened, but moved forward until he stood directly in front of his older brother.

Instead of inspecting Sasuke's arm, like Sakura had expected Itachi abruptly took Sasuke's head in his hands and tilted it, first one way, and then the other. Then he crouched down so that their faces were even, his hands still on either side of Sasuke's head.

"Did he touch you?" his voice was as even as ever, but there was just enough of a faint growl in the undertone and rumbling shifting of chakra that Sakura automatically dropped back into a defensive stance.

"Besides the cut? No."

Itachi let out a short breath and straightened up, releasing his grasp on Sasuke's head. "See that he never does. If you can manage that."

Itachi reached out, poked Sasuke in the forehead, then turned and walked away.

There was silence in the clearing before Sasuke whirled around, eyes flashing.

Sakura widened her eyes but before she could say anything Naruto moaned.

"What hit me?"

"_Sakura_," Sasuke growled.

She hesitated and swallowed before meeting Naruto's eyes. "A really ugly tongue."

"What?"

Sasuke stomped over, his eyes flashing. "We have to go."

"What?" Naruto asked, still a little dazed.

"The scrolls, dobe! If we want to pass, we need the scrolls!"

"And Orochimaru took ours!" Sakura gasped, eyes widening.

"So we need more." Sasuke snarled. "Let's go!" Turning on his heel, he stomped away.

Naruto blinked. "What's his problem?"

Sakura stared at him and finally shrugged. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

X

___Present Day  
_Konoha Hospital Lab_  
_

Sakura stared at the iron-based poison in front of her with a dark frown. It shouldn't be taking this long to figure out the composite of the poison. She was good with poisons. It was like finding a new puzzle where she was missing pieces, and for every piece she found she sometimes came closer to solving the mystery. Not always, but sometimes. Sometimes she had to finish the puzzle before she could locate pieces.

"It shouldn't be taking this long." Shizune murmured.

Sakura turned and offered the other medic a tight smile. "Perhaps I am just tired."

"No," Shizune said. "It's a complicated poison. You've managed to isolate two of the main ingredients. I am confidant once you find the third you will find the antidote."

Sakura pulled a face. "I know. At least, I hope I know."

Shizune laughed. "It's moments like these that I understand why exactly Tsunade-sama chose you as her apprentice."

"My wonderful sense of self?"

Shizune smiled. "You're so much like her at that age. Now, I think I recognize something that I don't think you'd have come across yet."

Sakura brightened. "Oh?"

"Hmm. It's an isotope that we find in Wind Country more often than in fire. It might what you're missing in your diagnostic."

"Wind Country…" Sakura mused. Shaking her head, she turned back to her microscope to see what exactly Shizune was pointing out.

She _would_ figure this out.

X

Itachi was playing shogi with Shisui. Shisui was not much of a player, and Itachi really couldn't decide which was more boring—playing or not playing. But Shisui was as close a friend as he had formed within the clan, and considering that he was waiting to see how long he was going to live, and had been under his watch when he had been injured, Itachi felt it was only right that he spent some time with him. He looked up moments before the door opened, when he felt a familiar chakra approach.

Sakura opened the door and turned around, dragging a lunch cart behind her. "Hello, Shisui-san, Uchiha-san. I've brought lunch."

Itachi's eyes narrowed imperceptibly. He'd been under the impression that nurses brought lunch, and that Sakura would be busy forming the antidote. That she was here like this must mean it had been completed. Why didn't she say as much?

"Ah, Sakura-chan!" Shisui said. "It's good to see your pretty face! All the staff here is just so lovely, I should get injured more often!"

Sakura smiled at him while adjusting his bed, fluffing his pillow, and setting the lunch trey across his lap. "I'm glad you've had such a pleasant experience, Shisui-san."

Itachi's eyes narrowed further. He had never seen the kunoichi respond quite like that before.

Sakura continued pleasantly, "Mai, in particular, was telling me about your appreciation. She mentioned something about you being scared of needles?"

Shisui chuckled a little uncomfortably.

Something flickered in Sakura's hand under the lunch tray and Itachi had just enough time to decide to let her do what she wanted before Shisui yelped.

"What the hell was that?"

Sakura leaned forward, smiling unpleasantly close to Shisui's face. "That, Shisui-san, was the antidote. Mai told me all about you wanting to 'hold her hand.' Drive one of my nurses from the room again, and you will regret it."

Shisui blinked at her before smiling hard enough to crinkle the corner of his eyes. "Of course, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura stared at him and then nodded, moving away from the bed. "Good. The antidote that I gave you should take care of the lingering poison."

"Great! When do I get to go back on duty?"

Sakura's mouth curved at the edges. "Go back on duty? Shisui-san, we just rescued you from death's door. I'm afraid you're off the active duty list for at least two weeks."

Shisui stared at her. "But…"

Itachi considered Haruno as she continued to stare at Shisui and that curious little half-smile that was giving him several different reasons to study her. It was obvious she was used to dealing with difficult patients, and had the confidence to threaten them with immediate retribution for misbehavior as well as force them to deal with the long-term consequences of their actions. He had no doubt that the only reason Shisui was off duty for two weeks was because of his behavior with the ridiculously curvy nurse who had attempted to help him earlier.

It appeared there was a ruthless streak in Haruno. His eyes returned to the board in front of him as he carefully reorganized his mental compartments around the pink-haired kunoichi. Efficient. It was a word he was beginning to associate with her.

"I shall leave you two to your game. Remember Shisui, one more complaint…" she let the threat hang before giving a half-bow and leaving the room with long, confidant strides that showed off her legs.

As he moved his next piece, Itachi idly wondered if she was efficient when she was crushing the skull of her opponents. She hadn't done much fighting after Shisui had been knocked out of the battle, and he was curious to see how she responded to violence.

Perhaps he would find out.

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Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed.


	3. Flirting?

Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto. But we like messing with the characters anyway.

Wow. We're overwhelmed by the response to this story so far. We're so glad that you're all enjoying it and hope that you continue to do so!

* * *

_16 Years Ago  
_Uchiha Compound

Itachi stared at the small body that was his little brother. Sasuke was all right for a baby he supposed. Not nearly as annoying as Hana's little brother and Sasuke occasionally hit what he was aiming at with rice balls. Itachi had tried to give him some helpful suggestions, but besides chewing on his fist or gurgling out what sounded like "Ini," Sasuke hadn't exactly proven to Itachi that he was worth any time. Ka-chan had promised that he hadn't said or done a lot when he was Sasuke's age either, but he sincerely doubted he was as slow developing rice ball attacks as his brother. At the least he was certain that he had managed to say the names of those around him fair quicker than Sasuke.

Still, Ka-chan had said that Sasuke was important and she smiled every time she saw them together. So Itachi made sure that he spent some time daily with Sasuke, preferably when his mother could see it. However, today, Sasuke was trying something new. It was the first time Itachi had actually understood why his mother was so fascinated with Sasuke.

Fugaku had taken Ka-san out to get some time away from the baby. Well, he was pretty sure Ka-chan had threatened their unfortunate Oto-san with bodily harm if she didn't get a break, and so Itachi found himself watching the baby. The baby that was staring at him with big, adoring eyes as he kept pushing himself to his feet when he was supposed to be taking a nap. There was something about watching a very small person try something for the first time that was fascinating. A newness that couldn't be defined… and if Sasuke kept going, Ka-chan was going to be very disappointed that she didn't see his first steps.

"If you do that when Ka-chan isn't here to see, she is going to upset." Itachi warned Sasuke, but he hunkered down and held out his hands anyway. There was something about watching Sasuke try something new, his balance unstable as he teetered on his feet that brought a smile to his face. He wanted to see if Sasuke could do it. He would just make a point to not mention it to Ka-chan.

"'Ini!" Sasuke said, smile lighting up his round face. Shifting his weight, he took several steps forward before falling back onto his well-padded bottom with a surprised look. His little brows bunched together and he looked like he was torn between crying and trying again.

"Come here, Sasuke." Itachi said calmly. Sasuke stared, shoving his fist in his mouth before grinning widely and pushing himself up, nose wrinkling as he tried again. This time he reached Itachi's outstretched hands just as his balance gave out, small body planting itself firmly in his firm grip.

Sasuke stared up at his brother, blinking those large eyes before grinning widely. "'Ini!'

Itachi blinked down at the very happy baby in his arms, the way the one small fist clenched his shirt and the thumb now firmly planted in his mouth as he leaned forward so that his head rested against his chest.

"'Ini," Sasuke murmured before shoving his thumb even further into his mouth and relaxing, clearly content where he was. Itachi hesitated before settling one hand on the baby's back, the other sliding under his bottom and lifting him against his chest. Sasuke snuggled even further against him, seemingly content to be held.

Itachi held Sasuke for long moments, brows furrowed in thought. Sasuke had taken his first steps to _him_. While not exactly the _wisest_ idea, since his mother was going to be very displeased if she ever learned about this, it was clear that his baby brother had made the choice himself.

Ka-chan was always telling him that there were people that every individual was meant to protect. That sometimes you were chosen to protect them and sometimes _you_ chose to protect them. Sasuke had walked to _him_, of all the family he could have chosen to make his first movements in the world with.

Him. His brother. _Aniki_.

A slow smile curved the young Uchiha's mouth. Reaching up, he ran a hand down the now sleeping baby's back.

"I'll protect you."

This was _his_ baby brother, and Itachi made the decision that no one was ever going to hurt him. Because Sasuke had chosen _him_ to walk to, because his mother had trusted him to watch Sasuke and then his brother had chosen him. Because of the way that he was so limp and warm against his chest as he sat against the wall, guarding the baby as he slept.

_'This one is mine.'_

X

___Present Day  
_Uchiha Family Restaurant

Shisui had obviously thought the last of his sanity had cracked over the last few weeks, and Itachi hadn't bothered to correct him. Usually when Itachi wasn't out on missions, he was rarely seen around the compound. He preferred to train, meditate, or hunt down that Nara kid for a challenging game of shogi. But since their trip to the hospital, Itachi had made a habit of being out and about town.

Since it was unusual for him to be seen, he'd made sure to randomize his appearances so it would not appear to be connected to any particular catalyst. How he satisfied his curiosity was his own business. There was no reason to speak to anyone of his pastimes, not to Shisui, not even to his little brother who he had caught giving him unusually confused looks when he thought no one else looking.

Perhaps one day Sasuke would learn the art of subtleness, but he wasn't holding out for it. No, there was no madness coloring his thoughts; just a niggling curiosity that wouldn't quite settle to the back of his mind. One he'd had every intention of dealing with in the most… _efficient_ manner possible. Amusement curled through him at the thought.

And it was why he was currently sitting at a family food stand with his brother, ignoring the activity around him; because the best way to approach your prey was through their own habits. Whether she admitted it or not, his brother was a habit and habits lead to patterns. And it was her patterns he was most interested in.

"You're not going to tell me why you're here, are you." Sasuke growled at him.

Itachi turned his gaze to his brother. "No."

"Dammit, _aniki_, you're about as conversational as…"

"Sasuke, I know you weren't about to complain about your brother's ability to talk when you're about as conversational as a pile of rock." She slid into the booth next to Sasuke, nodding at Itachi before offering the man behind the counter a bright smile.

"Sakura," Sasuke growled. "You're late."

"You're impatient." Sakura said sweetly as she studied her menu. "Some of us actually work around here, you know. Can't exactly tell death, 'Excuse me, I'm late for a meal with a very annoying teammate, can you come back around three?'"

Habits. Watching them from the corner of his eyes, Itachi was bemused to note that Sasuke had actually relaxed with her approach. It appeared his younger brother had completely failed to notice the faint sheen of sweet on the back of her neck, or the way her chest heaved just a little. Her hands were steady but there was a slightly glazed look to the back of her eyes that suggested she hadn't eaten properly for her chakra use, and her sass was apparently an effective weapon is distracting Sasuke.

The levels of his brother's obtuseness had actually increased since puberty. Turning back to his own meal, he kept a careful ear on the conversation next to him.

"How would you know?" Sasuke asked, shoving some of the fried noodles the proprietor had placed on the bar as an appetizer over towards Sakura. "Did you try?"

"No," Sakura said, absently dipping a noodle in the sauce and sticking it into her mouth without looking up from her menu. "I prefer to take the more direct approach and beat it back."

Itachi followed her movements with clinical interest. She was relaxing more into her position, leaning her elbows onto the bar in front of her. She was still more tense than he had expected—a possibly by-product of his presence, perhaps?—but the way her hand had automatically gone to the bowl at the same time his brother pushed it towards her spoke either of great familiarity or of significant perception. Her eyes hadn't once flickered off the menu in front of her. In fact…it didn't even look as if her eyes were moving.

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly.

Sasuke snorted, "You would."

Sakura didn't blink; she just flicked a noodle at Sasuke's nose. His brother caught it in his mouth.

"That's cheating Sasuke."

"If you don't want me to eat it, don't throw it at me." He suggested.

Her eyes finally moved on the menu. "I can always use my fists, if you prefer."

Itachi twisted his noodles along his chopstick and chewed slowly, making a deliberate move to appear more interested in his food than what was going on around him. To his internal amusement, the stiff line of her shoulders relaxed just enough that her posture seemed almost slumped. So she was uncertain what to make of him outside the roles of his role as Captain and hers as a medic. How interesting.

"Is Naruto coming?"

"He had a mission," Sasuke said with a shrug. "Won't be back until later."

She slid her eyes over. "So you brought your brother?"

Sasuke snorted. "He brought himself."

Sakura cut her eyes over to Uchiha Itachi and gave him a quick assessing glance. She had rarely seen Sasuke's older brother outside of official assignments or when they had occasionally passed by each other in the Hokage's tower. There was, of course, that one time in the forest of death, but if Sakura hadn't been convinced that Uchiha Itachi noticed everything, she would have been convinced that he hadn't even seen her.

Sakura would be lying if she said she never thought of that time in the forest. The feeling of helplessness, that she and her teammates were going to die and there was nothing she could do about it…and then the way Itachi had come in, stood between them, between Sasuke and that monster like some sort of dark angel and protected him the way she couldn't…

It was something that had gnawed at her, driving her forward. Sasuke might be Itachi's little brother, but he and Naruto were her teammates. She'd be damned if anything happened to them on her watch. Ever. Again.

But for all his prowess as a shinobi, Uchiha Itachi was never the most…sociable of men. All and one, everyone agreed that there was something a little 'off' in the way he was so proficient. There were still rumors going around at how early he could have graduated from the Academy if Uchiha Mikoto had not put her foot down and demanded that her son be allowed a normal childhood. Well, as normal as it got for shinobi, anyway…

Sakura blinked, suddenly becoming aware that she had been staring. And he had been…ignoring it? Why? What on earth was he doing here?

Well, Sakura didn't run from her problems. She ran through them. "I didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Uchiha-san. I was under the impression that you were eager to get back to taking on missions. I hope you're enjoying your rest."

Sasuke apparently swallowed wrong. Sakura ignored him and found herself meeting the too dark eyes of Itachi instead. His expression was as unreadable as ever and if it wasn't for the faintest, almost nonexistent gleam of challenge in his eyes, she might have thought she'd insulted him.

"I have just returned. It was a short mission." Itachi told her in that mild tone of his.

Sakura told herself the way she let her eyes scan his upper torso was completely professional. That she wasn't hoping for a chance to break some of that unflappable clam. She ignored the way Sasuke was still coughing. "Nice of you to remain uninjured."

There was an edge to his expression she couldn't put her finger on; something that made the tilt of his mouth and the slant of his eyes dangerous. Reaching over, he slapped Sasuke between the shoulder blades, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Your concern is noted."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at his tone. She set her menu down on the bar in front of her with studied casualness. "It's always nice to keep the hospital beds for the ones who really need it, instead of the ones too stupid to rest."

"I like to learn from my...oversights." Itachi murmured, tone deepening on as he finished his sentence.

Sakura stared at him. Surely Itachi wasn't… flirting…

Feeling flustered, she turned back to her menu and decided the best option was to just ignore Sasuke's brother until he left. Refusing to gulp, she determinedly searched for something that looked appealing.

Sasuke had caught his breath and was flicking his gaze back and forth between them, like he was trying to put together a particularly challenging puzzle. Itachi ignored his unsettled expression and finished his noodles.

It was clear that Haruno felt the conversation was over. He didn't bother to cover the amused expression on his face as he paid for his meal. Standing, he let his eyes scan the small stall before turning back to the pink haired medic. Moving silently, he leaned over the shoulder furthest away from his brother and tucked a strand of bright hair behind her curiously small ear.

Bending forward, he pitched his voice so only she could hear it.

"Have a nice evening, Haruno."

Straightening, he nodded at his brother's slack face and left, satisfied.

"Sasuke…" Sakura's voice was strained. "What the hell was that?"

"I…" Sasuke planted his hand on the bar between them and cleaned close, not moving his lips, "what the hell did you do?"

"Me!" Sakura squeaked. "I didn't do anything! The only time I've ever even talked to your brother had been—"

"Shut up," Sasuke said abruptly. "You're an idiot if you don't realize that he's got to be somewhere around here listening. There's no way he would go through all that trouble to shake you up and not stay around to watch."

Sasuke withdrew, running a shaking hand through his hair.

Sakura's jaw twitched, "To shake me up?"

"Shut up. Talking about it is what he wants. I'm not going to give him the satisfaction."

Sasuke was saved being pounded into the street when the proprietor of the bar came to take Sakura's order. "You're paying," she said to Sasuke.

"What? Why?"

"Because," she turned to look at him with an evil grin. "He's _your_ brother."

"Don't remind me," Sasuke said with a groan.

X

It was an old hospital superstition that the minute anyone mentioned 'it was a quiet night,' all hell would break loose. But it _was_ a quiet night—so quiet that when one of the new nurses had mentioned it in the break room, Sakura hadn't given it a second thought.

She was sorting through some papers in between her office and the ICU. All of her patients were stable, but Sakura knew that in some of their cases, they would only stay that way through careful monitoring.

But she wasn't too focused in her task to look up, eyes narrowed, before she turned a corner in the hall. She recognized that chakra. What was Uchiha Itachi doing here?

…leaning on the wall, apparently. Staring straight at her.

"Uchiha-san. This is twice in one week. I'm starting to detect a pattern."

"Haruno."

She narrowed her eyes at the way he ignored her earlier comment, his dark eyes studying her with an expression she couldn't read. Determinedly stiffening her shoulders, she picked up her clipboard and then turned to him with her best frown.

"Do you need medical attention?"

Those eyes blinked at her, the corner of one mouth kicking up a little. "No."

Fingers clenching around the papers in her hands, she took a deep breath and offered him her best smile. The one that didn't offer to pound him into the ground for taking up her precious time, when she should be helping patients!

"Well then, Uchiha-san, I have patients I need to see and visitors are only allowed between ten in the morning and eleven at night." She kept her smile as she glanced at her watch. "Since its nearing two A.M…." she let her sentence hang.

"I was unaware those hours applied to visiting medics," Itachi said. He shifted, moving like fluid until he stood directly in front of her. He made sure to step slightly closer to her than was socially acceptable.

He was curious. When she was tired, surrounded by her teammates, she let herself become snappy. When she was under pressure, if someone was wounded or if an enemy was standing in front of her, she rose to the occasion, consistently standing in the way of that which would harm anyone she vowed to protect. How would she respond with her routine interrupted? Where she thought she was safe? Where she thought she was in charge?

Sakura met his eyes with a wry twist of her lips. "Medics don't receive visitors at the hospital, Uchiha-san. They work."

She nodded at him and stepped to the side, making sure not to step too close or too far away from him. Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked away.

Itachi watched her, considering the way she held herself as she walked. Her shoulders were a little stiff, but her stride was relaxed and there was an efficiency all its own to how she moved, shuffling folders in her arms as if she was completely unaware of his eyes drilling into her back. Lips curving a little, Itachi was seriously beginning to wonder how much of an idiot his little brother truly was.

He watched her until she rounded the corner before moving for the nearest exit. Reaching down, he untied the mask at his hip and settled it in place. He had his own mission to complete. Hidden behind bone, his lips curved in into smirk. The Hokage had felt it necessary to keep him on light duty for the next week, so he would have plenty of time to consider his strategy.

He wondered how much pushing it would take before she began to push back.

X

Team Seven was good at tracking down rumors. Sasuke was a little less subtle than he needed to be occasionally, Naruto was somehow still as exuberant as he'd been in their genin days, and her pink hair was too much of a give away to be sneaky, yet; they managed to get the job done. Part of it was her skill with chakra, part of it was Sasuke's ability to see through lies, and the rest of it rested solely on the fact that as a team, they worked well together.

Sakura liked to think they were sneaky, and that their ability to move in areas other shinobi didn't care to due to their rather large and collective stubborn streak was helpful, but the truth was, as a group, they were about as subtle as a bull in a china shop. What they were really good at was beating the information out of whatever informant they managed to get their hands on. Unfortunately, thanks to Naruto's over excitement on these particular missions, Wave Country was the first real place they had had a mission after all, the beating had taken a little longer than they had anticipated.

Then the information they had been given led them straight into an ambush.

Sakura had recognized the shinobi attacking them almost before the ground blew up beneath their feet. They had run into Sound half a dozen times over the years, and it was becoming something of a grudge match between them. Orochimaru still wanted Sasuke's body and would be happy to give Naruto a one-way trip to the Akatsuki headquarters.

Snarling, she drove her fist into the torso of the shinobi who had been attempting to impale her with a kunai. The sensation of bones and muscles snapping under her chakra-enhanced punches had long since stopped being a conscious thought and she followed through, rolling over the body she had just decimated. The heat of Sasuke's Housenka no Jutsu was hot against her back and as she leapt to her feet she drove her fist into the earth, creating unstable ground for those attempting to dodge Sasuke's attack.

She had to shake her bangs out of her eyes to see. They were soaked with blood and sweat and she didn't have time to care. The heat of Naruto's back was her side and then Sasuke was there, completing their circle. It was the fleeting moments like this that she felt invincible.

"Sasuke." Her voice was taunt with adrenaline and the strain of battle.

"That was the last of them." His voice was as rough as hers.

"Remind me," Naruto said, voice strained with exertion, "why they keep trying to kidnap you? It's not like you're four anymore and the only person babysitting is your half-insane brother. There's gotta be idiots in your clan easier to turn into his next zombie."

"It's my 'half-insane' brother's fault." Sasuke growled as he continued to scan the area for another attack.

"What?" Sakura asked, shifted to bump his back with her elbow.

"He and Orochimaru have… issues. Itachi told Orochimaru that he would never let him touch me. Orochimaru took it as a direct challenge. Neither of them are going to give in until the other is dead." Sasuke said flatly.

"So Itachi and Orochimaru are fighting over your body…" Naruto muttered suggestively.

Sakura laughed, "I always knew you were too pretty for your own good, Sasuke-_kun_."

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped. "Someone is coming."

"Friendly?" Naruto asked, his voice almost cheerful as he settled his hands into the first seal of a familiar jutsu.

Sasuke was silent for a long time and then he swore. Sakura tensed. There were only two shinobi that could get that sort of reaction out of her Uchiha teammate and one had just turned tail and fled. That meant the other was…

A figure appeared to her left. The bone mask of a rat named him leaf the same as his ANBU uniform. She had only seen that casual grace in his posture twice in her life, but it named him as surely as Sasuke's hissed breath.

The mask was lifted and a pair of sharingan red eyes studied them. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him when his eyes scanned her, taking in her appearance slowly before moving back to his brother.

"Perhaps a little less mess next time."

Sasuke's shoulders tensed. He never had a response to his brother in situations like this.

She hated the way Sasuke would walk away from these confrontations defeated. He responded to Itachi's digs too personally, and he always beat himself up for it afterwards.

Well, not today.

With the rush of battle still flowing through her veins, Sakura flicked blood soaked hair out of her face, deliberately shifting herself between the Uchiha brothers. "I didn't think a little blood would bother you, Uchiha-san."

Itachi's dark eyes lit with some emotion Sakura couldn't define. He dropped his gaze from her and deliberately raked her body from the tips of her blood-flecked toes, lingering on areas where blood had marked her thighs, her stomach, and her chest. She felt his gaze stop for a long moment at her neck, on her rapidly increasing pulse, before he lifted his eyes to meet hers again.

He flowed towards her, each movement deliberate and graceful until he came to stand inches away, his eyes locked with hers. Slowly, he reached out to take a strand of blood-soaked pink hair between his fingertips. He held the hair out between them so she could watch him roll it between his fingers without dropping her eyes from his.

His voice, when he spoke, was low with a hint of a growl. "I think blood suits you, _Sakura_." Itachi dropped the strand of hair, his fingers stained with blood, and reached forward with slow deliberation to wipe his forefinger in a line down her cheek.

Sakura was unable to move, hardly able to _breathe_ as he continued to watch her with that look in his eyes, half-smile curved along his mouth as his fingers curled against her jaw. His expression was almost feral and she vaguely had time to wonder what she had gotten herself into when a hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked.

"Stop flirting with my teammate, _aniki_." Sasuke snarled as he dragged Sakura away from his brother. "Orochimaru went that way."

'Flirting?' Sakura thought as she stumbled along after Sasuke. _'Flirting_?'

"Fl-"

"Shut up." Sasuke hissed. "Not one word, Sakura."

"What on earth…" Naruto muttered as he caught up. "Your brother hasn't moved."

Stopping, Sasuke stared over her shoulder. "If we catch him first, we aren't leaving you any."

The faint, mocking laughter that followed them sent chills down Sakura's spine and the sudden silence in the forest was interrupted only when Sasuke let her go.

"That was very stupid, Sakura."

"FLIRTING?" She resisted the urge to reach over and shake him. "_Explain_."

Sasuke stared at her coolly. "My brother has been flirting with you. So that little scene was _entirely_ your fault."

Her gloves were starting to make creaking noises from the strain she was putting on the leather. Snarling, she leaned forward.

"_Sasuke_."

The man had the audacity to flinch. "Don't yell at me. I didn't do anything. You're the one who caught his attention and then taunted him with blood!"

"I was trying to help you!"

"Oh boy," Naruto muttered, hand going behind his head. Looking heavenward he sighed. "It's going to be one of those days."

"I didn't need your help, idiot!"

"We'll you got it and now you can fix it!"

There was a long silence. "Excuse me?" Sasuke managed.

"You can tell your brother that I am not interested," Sakura growled at him. "And you can do it as soon as you see him again, or so help me; I'm going to start at your ankles, end at your neck and break every bone in-between. _Twice_."

Sasuke hesitated. "Promise me something, okay?"

"What?"

"Don't _ever_ say that to my brother."

* * *

Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed.


	4. The Fine Line

**Disclaimer: We just like messing with their brains.**

* * *

_18 Years Ago  
_Uchiha Compound

Six-year-old Itachi was not supposed to be snooping. His ka-chan had made it very clear that there was a difference between 'snooping,' which was what naughty children did, and 'sneaking' which was what good shinobi did.

Unfortunately, the details between what was snooping and what was sneaking had gotten a little blurred. He'd been kept so very busy lately; he'd hardly seen his ka-chan at all. His oto-chan had been taking him on rounds, giving him special training, and having him demonstrate his abilities to the clan elders. His oto-chan was very proud.

Itachi probably wasn't supposed to know that this was all in preparation for him to graduate the Academy by his next birthday, but after all, he was a genius. He really didn't see the big deal. He was advanced far beyond the other trainees. It only made sense for him to graduate. After all the rest of his class was so. Unbearably. Slow.

He was supposed to be outside, practicing his kunai throwing. His oto-chan had drilled into him that the basics were just as important as more advanced jutsu. It was the basics that would someday save his life, his oto-chan said. His oto-chan was a jounin, and the head of Konoha's police department. His oto-chan knew what he was talking about. So Itachi was willing to practice again and again until his movements became as reflexive as breathing.

But he had seen his ka-chan and his oto-chan talking in the window. It had been so long since he'd talked to his ka-chan. Itachi launched one more perfect round of kunai at the post before sneaking – not snooping – into the house.

His parents were in the kitchen. He wanted to just walk in, but oto-chan would be upset that he was not out practicing what he had mastered months ago. Instead, he hid in an alcove so he could watch. If he couldn't talk to his ka-chan, then he could at least listen, right? It wasn't snooping.

"No," his ka-chan said in that firm, calm tone she had used when explaining to him that there was more than one way to learn. He had been three. She had taken the remnants of the butterfly from his fingers and taken his hand and led him out onto a field. There had been dozens of butterflies. Ka-chan had instructed him to sit and watch. He had asked her how this would help him discover how they flew. She had asked him if tearing off their wings had taught him anything. Itachi had paid closer attention to the flying after that.

"Mikoto, you can't baby him. Itachi is a genius the likes of which will stamp the Uchiha name into history. He deserves to be given this chance."

"Itachi is a six year old boy. He deserves to be given the chance to develop into a man. More than that, he is _my_. _son_. He is not a weapon, Fugaku, he is not a tool for Uchiha glory, he is _my son_."

His oto-chan placed his hand on the island where his ka-chan was setting up vegetables for the night's dinner. "He's my son too, Mikoto. I'm his father. I am only concerned with what is best for him."

His ka-chan laughed, and he'd never heard a sound quite like it before. When his ka-chan laughed around him, it was light and made his heart light too. This sound was harsh; clanging like that time Matsumoto Kuto had dropped all his kunai on the pavement. "You just told me you wanted my _six year old son_ to graduate from the Academy next year. At seven, he'd be a genin, at ten; he'd be a chunin – maybe even ANBU. And you have the audacity to tell me that you're concerned with what's best with him? Fugaku, listen to yourself."

"Itachi is a genius. He can handle the responsibility."

"Itachi is a genius. This isn't about whether or not he'd be competent. We both know he exceeds every expectation as a shinobi. This is about _Itachi_. It is not right to force that sort of mental and moral stress on someone who is not _developmentally prepared_ for it. No amount of intelligence and skill can compensate for time and experience. You are not taking that away from my son."

His oto-chan sighed, "This isn't something up for discussion, Mikoto. The clan elders and I have already decided to petition the Academy for the advancement tests. I had hoped to have your support in this. But it's not necessary."

His ka-chan's voice was tight, "I don't care what you or the clan elders say. You are not robbing _my son_ of his childhood. You are not submitting _my son_ to the life of a shinobi before he has had a chance to develop a life of his own. _My son_ is going to grow up whole."

"Dammit, Mikoto, he's _my son_ too."

Something changed in his ka-san's voice. It became softer, sweeter—and something in it made Itachi's hackles rise. "You know what, Fugaku? You're right. He is your son. And if you ever want another one, you will allow Itachi to graduate at the same time as the other students in his year. He will mature and progress and learn. He will develop bonds. He will be _our son_, Fugaku, or I swear by all the kami and by the first blood I spilled that you will have to live with the consequences."

There was a long silence in the kitchen. His oto-chan's voice, when he spoke, was low and raspy, "Mikoto. You know I love you. But this is what is best for Itachi; this is what is best for our clan. I am the clan head only because my aniki died. I will need another son. And you are not the only way I can get it. Think before you speak, my love."

"I love you too, Fugaku. But I think you are missing my point." Itachi heard a draw open and the solid thud of something wet hitting wood. He took a moment to analyze the risk of moving from his hiding spot where he was sneaking—definitely not snooping, as this was obviously important information he would not have otherwise discovered—and decided that his parents were too involved with each other to notice a moving shadow in the safety of their own kitchen.

His eyes widened when he saw what his mother was doing. She had removed a three inch thick steak and was carving it slowly with a spoon. His oto-san's face was growing more and more pale with each small section his ka-chan siphoned off the steak with the spoon.

They were silent for a long moment, his oto-san just watching his ka-chan. Finally, when the steak was unrecognizable, his mother held the spoon up between them. "I would never kill you, Fugaku. You have my loyalty as my husband and my clan leader. But never forget who I am. And I tell you, if you do this thing, you will never be able to have children again."

Itachi focused all his attention on the deliberate way his ka-chan laid the spoon on the table, placing it precisely horizontally before his pale oto-san.

"I trust you understand," his ka-san said quietly.

His oto-san gulped. "I will…speak with the clan elders about your concerns. It is possible that we were too hasty in our excitement and…overlooked…certain key factors…about how this would affect Itachi's development."

His ka-chan executed a flawless bow. "Thank you, honored husband."

His oto-san quickly left the room.

X

_Present Day  
_Hokage Tower

Sakura wasn't sure who was drooping more, her or Sasuke. Naruto was obviously cheating with the Kyuubi chakra, but even he was a little wilted around the edges. Sakura wished their report wasn't so urgent and they could find some food.

"What is keeping the hag?" Naruto growled from his position against the wall. Sakura cracked open an eye and glared at him.

"Probably ANBU business, or the council, or a stupid genin who did something stupid, or perhaps she was needed in an emergency operation…"

Sasuke's hand cut her off and she considered hitting him, but didn't want to move. She was too tired to waste the amount of energy required to make the hit count.

"We got the point."

Shizune's amused face peered around the corner at them. "You three look terrible."

Naruto offered her a bright smile. "We ran a lot."

Shizune rolled her eyes. "I'm sure that's not all you did. Come one, Hokage-sama is ready for you."

True to word, Tsunade was sitting at her desk and it didn't take them long to finish their report. Sasuke never really felt the need to mince words and he was worse when tired.

"So," Sasuke finished. "We think that the rumors about a Cloud and Sound alliance are plausible. Wave Country is particularly nervous about such an event and has spent a great deal of effort to discover if there is any truth."

"They haven't turned anything up," Sakura butted in. "Our informant didn't have much to say on the matter, but we were ambushed by Sound just inside the border. That could have been for a number of reasons, but it's obvious they feel confident about something."

Tsunade sighed. "If Cloud joins Sound, we're going to have a problem."

"Have we heard anything from our allies?" Sasuke asked.

"Sand hasn't heard anything and I haven't trusted any messengers to send word about what we suspect. Kakashi is still two days out and injured, so he won't be pushing to get back here as quickly as you did." Tsunade informed them. "Once he arrives we can make some decisions."

"Right." Sasuke said. "If that's all you needed us for?"

"You three are off duty for the next two days." Tsunade said firmly. "No missions. No work in the hospital. Take it easy. If Kakashi brings something different back I will need you three in fighting condition."

Sakura sighed. There went her plans for tomorrow. "Yes, Tsunade-sensei."

"Oh man," Naruto sighed.

Sasuke ignored them both and bowed. "If that is all?"

"And stay out of trouble."

Naruto looked offended. He opened his mouth and Sakura grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled.

"Let's go, Naruto."

Sasuke followed them out and shut the door behind him.

"So now what are we going to do?" Naruto whined. "Who knows when Kakashi's gonna get back? He's always late. We could be stuck here for months."

Sakura eyed him, "You can't honestly be complaining about having a couple of day's rest. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going home to take a bath. I want to get this blood off me."

Sasuke twitched. "Sakura…"

She turned and looked at him. "Hmm?"

Sasuke sighed. "Never mind. See you tomorrow."

X

Itachi swiftly moved across Konoha's rooftops. His report to Tsunade had taken longer than he had anticipated and he was looking forward to a shower and clean clothing. He grimaced behind his mask as he considered the delay in his hunt. Hokage-sama had wanted him to rest for the next forty-eight hours before following his hunch. He didn't approve, but he wouldn't defy a direct order either. Sighing, he landing in the Uchiha compound silently.

Two days of utter… He paused, lifting his mask to uncover his face as he considered the feel of the chakra in the compound. It appeared his little brother had beaten him home. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he considered what that meant. If his brother was home, so was Sasuke's _team_. Eyes gleaming, he moved on silent feet into the house he shared with his parents.

The smell of miso and cooked rice caught his attention as he entered the kitchen. Sasuke was sitting on a stool, hair damp from his own shower as their mother finished up preparing their meal. Leaning against the doorway, he waited for one of them to notice him before entering. A fond smile touched his mouth when it was his mother who saw him first, wooden spoon firmly in her hand as she turned, a welcoming smile on her face.

"It's about time you returned home."

"I have been busy, ka-chan," Itachi offered as he moved into the warm room.

"Yes, Hokage-sama informed me that you were off hunting again," Mikoto reached up and patted his cheek. "You need to shower, Itachi. You smell like a slaughter house."

He shrugged. "Things were a bit messy this time."

"At least wash your hands and you can have some rice balls before you clean up. I will have your meal ready soon." His mother suggested, nodding towards the sink.

"You wouldn't let me have rice balls," Sasuke growled from where he was sitting.

"You weren't considerate enough too great your poor mother before going to clean up," Mikoto returned, rapping Sasuke's knuckles with her spoon. "Besides, you ate lunch with us. Your brother just returned and I doubt he has eaten anything but soldier pills since he left."

"Not true, ka-chan," Itachi corrected her as he swallowed a rice ball. "I stopped in a nice village in Mist and had an excellent bowl of stew."

Mikoto lifted a brow. "I don't think I particularly want to know what you were doing in Mist or what you did to get that bowl of stew."

"Hmm," Itachi agreed as he finished swallowed the last of his snack. He studied the contents of the kitchen and gauged how long it would take her to finish cooking. Nodding, he turned his attention back to his ka-chan. "I shall return to eat in fifteen minutes."

"It will be ready then," Mikoto agreed. "Your oto-san is off dealing with clan issues, so it will just be you two after dinner. I'm heading out for some late shopping."

Itachi nodded his acceptance and moved towards his room to clean up.

X

Sasuke felt the pressure of his brother's attention throughout dinner. He had a bad feeling that he knew _exactly_ what Itachi wanted to talk about. Dammit, it was all Sakura's fault.

_He'd_ volunteered to help his mother clear the table and wash the dishes, not just because he wanted the extra time to think, and not just because he wanted to help his mother, but because he knew Itachi wouldn't dare try anything in front of Mikoto. It was a well-kept secret in the clan, but Itachi was a total mama's boy.

How the hell had Sakura managed to catch Itachi's attention?

Sasuke had brushed the incident at the food stand off as one of his brother's unceasing attempts to irritate him, had excused Itachi's deliberately random excursions (yes, he knew that they were deliberate. He may not be Itachi, but he was not stupid.) as Itachi trying to throw someone off the scent—but when his brother had stepped in front of his teammate and held her blood-stained hair in his fingers…

Sasuke had never suspected Itachi had a sex drive. He was increasingly concerned (and disturbed!) at the thought that long-suppressed hormones had come out and focused on Sakura.

When every last dish was put away, Mikoto turned to Sasuke with a smile. "Your brother told me to tell you he'd be waiting by the kunai posts."

Sasuke sighed.

His brother was where he said he would be. As Sasuke approached, he lifted a kunai and tossed it almost carelessly at the post some fifty yards in front of him. Sasuke paused to study the target, which had a small, tightly formed circle of kunai filling the center.

"'Ka-chan isn't going to be happy about replacing that post again."

"If you had hurried, I might not have gotten bored," came Itachi's calm response

Sasuke grunted. Itachi obviously had something he wanted to talk to him about. It was probably about Sakura. Sasuke'd be damned if he made it easy on him.

To fill up the time, Sasuke approached the pole and began pulling the kunai out of it. He could feel the weight of Itachi's gaze on his back and refused to crack, despite its hair-raising nature. Itachi had been hitting on his _teammate_. _Itachi_ had been hitting on _his_ teammate. He'd been hitting on Sakura.

And if he told Itachi to back off, Itachi would know he had the added pleasure of irritating Sasuke _and_ pursuing…

And if he told Itachi _Sakura_ said she wasn't interested, and then Itachi would know they talked about it, and that just… could not be good.

So he wasn't going to bring it up.

"Damn it, aniki!" Sasuke whirled, kunai between his knuckles on each fist. "Why Sakura?"

The corners of Itachi's mouth twitched upwards. "She interests me."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Thank you, I gathered that." He whirled back around, studding the post in a straight line of kunai loosed from his left hand. The pole split under the pressure.

Itachi made a faint _tsking_ noise.

Sasuke shrugged, turning back to face his brother and grumble, "Whatever, you broke it first."

He crossed his arms, a brace of kunai still clasped in his right wrist. "You wanted to talk to me. So talk."

Itachi smiled, and Sasuke suppressed a shiver at the light that came into his brother's eyes. "Correction, little brother. I wanted _you_ to talk. Tell me about Sakura."

Sasuke stared at his brother. He wasn't sure what Itachi expected him to say; much less why Itachi thought he would just start babbling his friend's life story. Except for the fact that Itachi had _that_ expression in his eyes. The next thing Sasuke was going to see was the first stage of the Sharingan as Itachi offered to beat it out of him.

This was all Sakura's fault.

Tightening his grip on the Kunai, he desperately tried to think of some way out of this mess that wouldn't get him killed. Because Sakura was going to kill him if he did and Itachi was going to kill if he didn't.

Unless….

This was really all Sakura's fault.

"Why?"

Itachi lifted a brow as he shifted a little on the post he had rested his shoulder against.

"Why not?"

"Because she is _my_ teammate, Itachi."

The edges of Itachi's mouth curved. "And you are a very foolish teammate."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Itachi rolled forward and picked up a Kunai of his own. "It means, my foolish _little brother_ that you are going to tell me about Sakura."

Scowling Sasuke looked away. "If you hurt her, I'll do whatever it takes to kill you."

"Of course."

Sasuke was not amused by the smug tone in his brother's voice. "If I ever hear a hint that you continued after she said no, I'll tell ka-chan."

There was a silence and then a soft laugh. "You're finally developing some ruthlessness. I approve."

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke crossed his arms, refusing to look at his brother.

"Sakura… Sakura-chan is a girl."

Itachi was silent and then snorted. "You have two minutes little brother."

Sasuke waved a hand. "What do you expect, Aniki. She's my _teammate_!"

"Clearly."

Sasuke buried his hands into his hair and tugged. "What do you want? I mean, Sakura would be much better to ask questions, don't you think?"

"She should be in bed."

Sasuke snorted and then stilled. _Oh shit_.

Itachi moved into his line of site, his expression almost gleeful. "You know something."

'_Which one terrifies you more_… _Sakura or your brother_?' Really, in the end, there was only one choice.

"How much do you know about Yamanaka Ino?"

X

Sakura stared at Ino, highly amused. "Ino, you can't out drink me."

Ino snorted. "Yes I can."

Sakura held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Ha! I'm not going to fall for that!"

Sakura shook her head, amused. She was feeling a little wrung out from the mission they had just returned from, but the nap earlier that afternoon had helped and the hot, steaming shower even more. By the time Ino had showed up to demand she join her for drinks, she had felt a little more human.

It was just the distraction from that crazy Uchiha she had needed. Not that she was admitting that he was… distracting (or that she was still faintly distracted by the way his eyes had smoldered) but she was happy to be out.

"Ino, where is Shika?"

"Getting more drinks."

It appeared it was going to be one of those nights.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned and found herself facing Kiba, Kiba who was dressed all in black and smiling at her in a way that was more fang than teeth. _That_ Kiba. "Kiba!"

"You look a little flushed Sakura."

She snorted. "I've been drinking with Ino since," she lifted her wrist and studied her watch. "_Hmmm_ since at _least_ an hour ago."

"Just an hour?"

Sticking out her tongue, she pointed a finger at him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were out on a mission!"

Kiba rested his hip against her table and smiled at her. "I just got back."

"So you came here?"

"Man's gotta eat."

Sakura blinked a few times. She had never actually come to this particular establishment to eat. Tilting her head, she considered what they were likely to cook and grimaced. She bet Naruto ate here too.

"That's lovely," Ino said, butting in. She was eyeing Kiba curiously. "When did you get a brother?"

"Perhaps we have been drinking for more than an hour," Sakura muttered.

Kiba laughed. "She's pretty gone, huh?" He let his eyes roam over Ino's disheveled figure. "She's not so uptight smashed."

Ino hiccupped, and bounced with the motion. Kiba's eyes followed her bouncing.

Sakura punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"She's drunk," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "Knock it off, before I knock off your head."

"It's not my fault she's falling out of her—OW!"

Sakura withdrew her hand, "Leave my friend alone, Kiba."

Kiba rubbed his arm, "You're mean when you're drunk, Sakura-chaaan."

Sakura grinned up at him. "No. I'm just mean."

Kiba laughed and Sakura grinned.

And someone unleashed the hold they had on their chakra. He must have been there for a while, not even Itachi was that fast. Sakura _refused_ to turn and look for him.

Sasuke had better have given him her message. She ignored the sudden chakra flare and eyed her half finished drink, wondering if she could talk Kiba into buying her another one. If she left to retrieve the new drink herself, then she was pretty sure her seat would be taken when she got back. A drunk Ino was a particularly good male attention getter. Where was Shikamaru?

"Kiba do you think –" she paused. Kiba's eyes were a little wider than normal and his jaw was slack. Taking another deep breath, she froze at the sudden brush of chakra and the subsequent heat along her spine.

Her eyes stayed firmly on Kiba, she would not give him the satisfaction of jerking and she would not turn to look at him and were _his fingers in her hair_?

"Inuzuka."

"Uchiha-san," Kiba managed. "Um, well… I guess I'll be seeing you, Sakura."

Her left brow twitched and she narrowed her eyes. Kiba was determinedly not looking at her face and he gave Ino a slightly flirtatious smile, clearly looking to distract himself from the shinobi behind her. Ino was ignoring him, starring with wide eyes at the man who was almost pressed against her shoulder.

She was going to _kill_ Sasuke.

"Sakuuuura," Ino drawled. "Who is that man in your hair?"

Sakura had never wanted to see Shikamaru more in her life. He probably knew it too. That was why he wasn't showing up. She had to admit, the situation looked troublesome to her too.

So the question was: did she leave her obviously judgment-impaired friend alone in the bar and take care of the problem which had so unexpectedly entangled itself with her?

Itachi's fingers tightened in her hair.

She sent a smile absolutely _dripping_ with sugar Kiba's way. "Kiba? Uchiha-san and I are going to step outside for a minute. I am going to leave Ino in your care. If I hear absolutely _anything_ happens to her that I would have prevented, if she even gets _upset_, then I am going to neuter you."

Kiba paled.

Itachi's grip tightened to a painful extent. Sakura gave serious consideration to the knife on the table. She'd always wondered what she'd look like with short hair.

Instead she reached around and placed her hand lightly on Itachi's wrist, sending a shock of chakra into a specific pressure point that caused him to loosen his grip enough so that she could push away from the table and stand, pulling away from his grasp.

She turned around to face Itachi, that same sweet smile curving her lips. Sasuke and Naruto would be running by now. The slightly feral look in Itachi's eyes just widened. Sakura ignored the shiver that ran through her at the sight. She wasn't as bad off as Ino, but she was pretty drunk.

"Shall we, Uchiha-san?" With that she turned and walked out of the bar.

It took a little more work than she had expected to walk to the front door, but at least if she had had enough to weave a little, then Ino had had enough that it was possible she wouldn't remember a thing about this tomorrow. How unlikely. Ino probably had a separate piece of brain dedicated to remember the embarrassing things that happened to her friends.

Outside was dark and the streets were mostly empty, so Sakura steered them over to the little alcove between the front door and the alley. She was drunk, not stupid, and there was no way she was going into a dark alley with Uchiha Itachi. Turning around, she was startled by how close he was. Close enough that she could clearly make out his features even in the dark.

He opened his mouth but there was no way in hell she was giving him the open volley. Jabbing a finger into his chest, she glared at him.

"What the hell was that?"

"You were flirting with Inuzuka."

Sakura felt a headache forming behind her left eye. Shoving her finger a little firmer into his chest, she hissed at him.

"That was not flirting! Besides, we've scarcely exchanged ten sentences! What makes you think you can just come up behind me when I'm talking to my _friends_ and put your hands on me like you own me!"

His fingers curled around the digit shoved into his chest, calloused fingers stroking over her knuckles. "Ah, Sakura, I think that should be obvious."

She refused to be intimidated by the way he was watching her. That faint curve on his mouth and the unnervingly feral look in his eyes; she refused to believe the butterflies in her stomach were from anything other than adrenaline. Growling at him, she tried to get her fingers back.

"I think what is obvious is that you're _nuts_."

He smiled, the edges of his mouth curving into something vaguely wild. "_Hmmm_."

Jerking her hand again, she glared at him. "Let me go."

"I have decided to learn you, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura froze. His voice had been soft, but there was a faint, sharp edge to those words that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The expression in his eyes was almost lazy now.

"What?"

His free hand tangled in the hair behind her ear but she was too startled and too drunk to do more than gawk at him. That seemed to amuse him and he leaned against the wall, his hands pulling her close enough that she could feel the heat of him against her arms and legs.

"I didn't think you were hard of hearing," Itachi pulled her closer. He leaned forward so that his long hair brushed against her face and neck as he placed his lips directly by her ear. "I said, I have decided to learn you, Haruno Sakura."

Despite herself, Sakura shivered. She'd be lying if she didn't admit, then and there, that Uchiha Itachi was a very attractive man. A very dangerous man. And some part of her fluttered at having caught his attention.

She leaned forward just enough to place her lips by his ear, "And I told you. Let. Me. Go."

Sakura was close enough that she could feel Itachi tense. And then he laughed, a warm, deep chuckle that really should not have set butterflies off in her stomach like it did.

"I think," Itachi murmured, "that I am going to enjoy learning you very much. And Sakura… I have always excelled in whatever area I chose to study."

He dropped his head abruptly and planted a hot kiss at the base of her throat. Tracing his nose up the side of her neck, he returned his mouth to her ear. "I am not finished with you."

And before the puff of his warm breath had finished cascading down her throat, she was alone. Sakura stared at the wall blankly for several seconds before she had to strain to keep from reaching up and touching the warm place on her neck his mouth had been.

_Itachi_ had just kissed her _neck_.

Apparently Sasuke _hadn't_ gotten her point across. Or Itachi had taken it as a challenge. Either way, she needed to go back into the bar because there was a chance he was watching her to see what her reaction was and she was not ever going let him have the satisfaction.

He had _not_ gotten to her. Turning on her heel, she moved quickly back into the bar.

Kiba was right where she had left him, joined by the wayward Shikamaru. Ino was listing heavily to one side, but her eyes lit up with a fairly evil sort of gleam when she caught sight of Sakura moving back towards them.

She should have just let Ino become Shikamaru's problem. Still, if Itachi was watching, and Sasuke seemed to be under the impression that he did watch after screwing with people's heads, she needed to be in here. Not out there. And maybe she could beat out some advice from Shikamaru on how to deal with the Uchiha. They were somewhat friends, and at the very least the competed against each other playing Shogi. So he had to know something about how Itachi's mind worked.

"Haruno Sakura! You went outside and made out with _Uchiha Itachi_?"

It was going to be a very long night.

* * *

We are just overwhelmed with the positive response to this story. Thank you all so much! We're so glad you're enjoying it. And now that things are starting to heat up between our two...well, we hope you'll enjoy that too.


	5. His Heart In Her Hand

We took a little liberty with Itachi's Genin team and the name of Hana's dog. We couldn't find it, no matter how hard we searched!

We played around with some Shippuden in this one, so we hope you all enjoy it.

Thank everyone so MUCH for your awesome response to this story. We are amazed at how many people have commented and seem to truly enjoy our little AU world. Thank you again! Cannot thank you enough!

Just Enough

* * *

_11 Years Ago  
_Konoha Training Grounds

Hana studied her new teammates and tried to figure out if she had gotten gypped. Aburame Itsuki wasn't exactly the weirdest person she knew, but he ranked pretty high up there. And he was boring. She didn't care if he had bugs living under his skin. There was still something pretty strange about someone who wore sunglasses and a big jacket even in this heat.

Then there was Uchiha Itachi. She scowled at him. He was ignoring her. Wrinkling her nose, she buried her fingers into the fur of her favorite puppy and tried to decide if she could get away with throwing a kunai at him. She didn't like to be ignored. It didn't matter that he was ignoring everyone, even bug-boy – who he seemed to watch whenever he could – with an expression that was carefully blank. It made her want to throw a kunai at him.

It was really unfair that she got him out of everyone else.

What was so interesting about bugs, anyway? She had Onshi, which was cooler than anything Itsuki could do. He had bugs. She had a dog. She didn't care if Itachi was a genius; he missed some rather obvious things. Narrowing her eyes, she turned her attention back to their teacher. There was a faint twitch under the Jounin's eye. Her uncle had one of those.

"So," their new sensei said mildly. "Perhaps we can begin by talking about what we like and what we plan on doing as shinobi. Hana, why don't you go first?"

Hana stared at him. What? He wanted her to go first? Crossing her arms, she continued to stare at him, and when he didn't even blink, sighed.

"Dogs."

There! Let him make of that what he wished. Hana tilted her head and wondered how long it would take before the Jounin started rubbing his nose. She had seen Uchiha-sama make the motion once or twice... actually; any adult around Itachi seemed to develop that particular habit, but most especially his oto-san.

"And what do want to do as a shinobi?"

Hana huffed. "What all shinobi want to do, sensei."

The jounin sighed.

"Itachi?"

Itachi tilted his head and was silent for a long time. Hana didn't particularly like those silences. They usually meant Itachi was planning something and she hated it when he made her look like an idiot. So, she poked him in the arm. He cut his eyes to her, clearly unappreciative of the gesture.

"I like rice balls," he said. "I'm going to kill Orochimaru."

The jounin blinked. "Okay... That's a very... interesting… goal."

Itachi just shrugged, dark eyes unblinking.

"I like flowers." Itsuki said softly from where he was sitting. "Especially poisonous ones. I plan on becoming at least a jounin, perhaps ANBU."

The jounin nodded looking slightly relieved. "Excellent."

She sensed weakness. Hana jabbed Itachi with her elbow as the Jounin stood and directed them to the woods to start testing their abilities.

"Bet I can make him crack before you."

Itachi snorted. "You shouldn't make bets you can't win, Inuzuka."

She glared at him. "Bet you three dango sticks I can do it."

Itachi tilted head and for a moment and his eyes gleamed red. "I like _goma_."

Hana rolled her eyes. "You're going to lose."

He smirked. "I don't lose, Hana. You'll learn."

X

___Present Day  
_Fire Country_  
_

"Um, Sakura-chan? We sort of need him alive to help deliver our message to Gaara."

Sakura shifted her eyes away from Sasuke's back and gave Naruto a fierce glare. "I know that. Why do you think he is still breathing?"

Sasuke didn't both to look back as they vaulted through the trees but Sakura knew he could hear them. She also knew that Sasuke was quite aware that she was considering all the ways to ship his neatly preserved internal organs back to his clan. Preferably to his brother. His crazy brother who spoke nonsense and kissed unsuspecting girls who had been drinking.

"Right. Well, okay. Just thought I would mention it, since you keep reaching for you kunai. And you should probably not skin Sasuke alive." Naruto smile faltered at her look. "Um, yes! We get to see Gaara!"

Yes. Wonderful. Swearing through clenched teeth, Sakura forced herself to forget and ignore what had happened in Konoha and concentrate on what was going on in the mission.

Kakashi had finally checked in. His news hadn't been good. There had been definitely more than rumors going on in Mist about possible Cloud and Sound alliances. This meant now it was urgent that they go and warn Sand. If a war started, they would need their allies ready and willing to step in.

Sasuke stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing. "We have company coming."

Sakura moved to his side. "How many?"

"One."

Sakura slide her fingers into her gloves and took her place at Sasuke's left and Naruto slide next to her open side. All three of them were tense until a Sand-nin burst through the cover of the leaves. He skidded to a stop when he saw them and the relief on his face would have been comical at any other time.

His news wasn't good. Sakura bit her lip as she watched him take careful sips of out of Naruto's canteen, his expression weary. Gaara had been kidnapped by Akatsuki. Kankuro had been poisoned by some unknown poison and the only clues Sand had was the descriptions of the member and whatever information Kankuro could tell them when he woke up. She shot a worried look at Naruto, whose face was hard. Quickly assimilating the facts she turned to Sasuke.

"We're going to need back up." There team was equipped to handle a great deal but Akatsuki was an organization they didn't have any concrete information on. Just rumors and insubstantial facts.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes."

"Do you know where the Akatsuki took Gaara?" Sakura questioned the Sand-nin.

"No." He shook his head. "I was sent to relay the message. We had hoped to get help in time to save Kankuro but…"

Sakura let a heavy breath out. "We need to go to Sand, Naruto."

His fists clenched. "Gaara…"

"We can't help him if we don't know where he is." Sasuke said flatly. "And Sakura is right. We have our own mission to complete."

"Please tell Hokage-sama that we will continue to Sand and that we will require assistance in order to retrieve your Kazekage." Sakura requested softly. The Sand-nin nodded, handed back his canteen before taking off.

'At least Naruto is waiting until he leaves before exploding.' Sakura thought with a sigh.

"We have to save Gaara." Naruto said finally, his voice low.

"We will." Sakura informed him. "But we have to go to Sand first."

Naruto spun around. "Why? We can track him!"

Sasuke snorted. "Not easily, and we don't even know what direction we should be heading. We will waste a day going to Sand. We will lose two, perhaps three trying to locate a cold trail."

Naruto's jaw worked hard and Sakura laid a hand on his arm. "We can run through the night, Naruto. We have to drop off the scroll before we can start a new mission and I need to see what poison was used on Kankuro. We might have to deal with it in our battle with the Akatsuki and I want to have an antidote on hand if that is the case."

Naruto's fingers clenched.

"You want to tell Gaara we let his brother die?" Sasuke asked mildly.

Naruto finally shook his head. He took a deep breath and turned. "Alright. Let's go."

Sasuke turned to Sakura. "If you get tired, say something."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Sakura-chan…"

She stuck her hands on her hips and glared. "If I can survive Itachi's idea of a two day run, I can surely survive yours, Sasuke."

Sasuke twitched. "Right."

Naruto growled at them. "Let's go!"

Sakura waved her hand. "After you, Uchiha."

Sakura was pretty sure that if Sasuke had been capable of rolling his eyes, he would have. Instead, he jumped into the tree and she quickly followed.

They had to hurry.

X

Many shinobi found the hunt boring. Itachi was not one of them. There was something about sneaking up behind someone who was _supposed _to know better and was doing all that was possible to discourage pursuit which was…amusing.

The better the target was, the more Itachi enjoyed the chase. Kabuto was supposedly one of the best, but so far, Itachi had been unimpressed.

Haruno Sakura, on the other hand…

Itachi allowed himself a smug smile as he moved soundlessly through the trees. She certainly promised to be… interesting. He had been more entertained in their short confrontations than he remembered being in… years.

The way her body had unknowingly responded to his when he held her had been…not unexpected, but certainly interesting. If she hadn't been drunk…

Well, and he had indicated to Sasuke he'd back off if she told him to. While Itachi had no qualms about going around whatever he told his brother in order to achieve his goals, he had seen his mother in action when she was disappointed. Itachi liked his pertinent parts where they were. And as enjoyable as his thoughts were, he would have to satisfy this particular area of his life later. Eyes narrowing, he paused on a branch, letting his sharingan take in the scene around him.

He had been hunting Kabuto for five days now. Tracking him from Fire into Wind country had been easy enough, but the air had changed several miles back. He would need to be cautious to avoid detection now since his instincts told him he was nearing his goal.

Tsunade had requested that he discover what he could about the Akatsuki on this particular mission. From what he had learned, Kabuto had been acting as a spy for both sides for months now. He was the only direct link from Orochimaru to the Akatsuki organization, and with the rumors between Cloud and Sound, Konoha needed to know what they were dealing with from the Akatsuki as well.

Unfortunately, the information they had on the organization was greatly limited. Eyes roving around him carefully, he moved along the tree branches. The day Tsunade signed off on killing Orochimaru would be a day he would greatly _enjoy_. Unfortunately, he had information they needed. His eyes narrowed. However, as he had told his Hokage, if Orochimaru actually managed to lay a hand on his rather foolish brother, order or no, the threat would be dealt with.

Itachi frowned, stilling as he sensed a vibration through the tree he was standing on. Focusing his sharingan, he looked forward and a hiss escaped his teeth. Kabuto's trail was disappearing, but that was suddenly not his most important problem.

What was Sasuke doing fighting an Akatsuki?

Itachi only debated for a moment whether or not to continue on Kabuto's trail. He had heard exemplary tales about Team 7's competence, but when it came to Akatsuki…

Actually, it appeared that he would not be forced to make the decision just yet after all. The remnants of Kabuto's trial led straight towards the confrontation. If he happened to pause for a few minutes to take in the local scenery before resuming his hunt, Tsunade _had _been after him to rest more.

Itachi took a moment to survey the scene. His brother and his teammate were in pursuit of a shinobi on a flying bird which appeared to be made out of clay. He didn't see Sakura anywhere.

Itachi debated simply taking out the Akatsuki. It would be the most direct course of action, but not the most effective. The information that Konoha had on the organization was limited at best, and it was better to discover exactly what the strengths and weaknesses of this particular member was before forcing Akatsuki to recruit another.

He kept himself hidden as he ran, parallel to his brother and his teammate, deliberately keeping pace with them. The Akatsuki kept throwing back little pieces of animated clay, which were enhanced with chakra to explode at key moments. There was no point in getting into a ditch which only served the enemy's purpose.

Itachi was again tempted to simple jump up and take down the Akatsuki. However, now was as good a time as any to see just how well his brother was learning what he was taught and if that blond idiot was as competent as Tsunade insisted he was.

X

"Naruto."

"What?"

"Distract him."

"What do you think I am doing?"

Sasuke ignored the comment and worked a series of hand seals before activating the Goukakyuu no Jutsu. Fire shot out of his mouth and when the clay hit met his flame they hardened and hit the earth quicker than the blonde moron on the clay bird had expected and prematurely exploded. That suggested that they could get within a certain distance of Deidara without worry about getting something important blown off. Naruto didn't have the speed to make the sort of hit necessary to deal with the explosives while disabling the bird and he had no control of a fire jutsu.

This meant he was going to have to find a way to either slow the damn bird down or rip the beak off before attacking. Sasuke sighed mentally as he dodged another explosion. Naruto was getting too worked up to be of use. It was moments like these that he missed Sakura's level head.

"I've got an idea." Sasuke snapped, flinging himself to the right to dodge yet another of the fucking birds.

"I'm going to rip that guy's head off!"

"You can do that after my idea," Sasuke snarled. "Calm down Naruto, or you're going to get us both killed."

"Shut up! GAAARA!"

This meant he was going to have to do this on his own. Great.

He didn't have time to worry about Naruto. Sakura was facing the puppet master with no one but the old woman and they needed to get back to her. Making a fast series of seals, he reached for the shuriken he kept for this purpose on his belt. Flinging them forward, he snarled out the ninjutsu.

"_Sharingan Soufuusha Sannotachi_."

One of the shuriken was knocked out of the sky by one of the clay birds, but he managed to direct the other two around the beak and wing of a bird. Forming another set of seals, Sasuke formed the second jutsu as quickly as he could. The ninjutsu weren't complex enough to give the Akatsuki member trouble if he managed to get enough get another one of those exploding clay bombs into a wire to sever it.

"Ryuuka no Jutsu."

Fire raced along the guide wire and crashed into the large clay bird, stiffening a wing and charring Deidara. The beak fell off of the bird completely and Naruto howled, lunging after it. Sasuke swore himself when he realized that he hadn't gotten a clean hit on the Akatsuki and was about to chase after Naruto when a different explosion rocked the woods the blonde had fallen into.

"What…"

"Not bad, little brother."

Sasuke whirled around, disbelief pouring out of him. Itachi was standing on a log, his expression amused, the limp form of the Kazekage slung over one shoulder.

"Aniki," Sasuke hissed. Of course, Itachi _would _show up now. And pose on the log with the Kazekage slung over his shoulder and his _hair _blowing in the breeze.

There were days Sasuke hated his older brother.

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled, and was instantly at Itachi's side, and was grabbing at the limp form of the Kazekage. "Gaara. GAARA!"

Itachi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder in a moment of deliberate contact. He waited until the boy looked up at him. "The Kazekage is beyond our help."

Naruto snarled, "Shut up. Shut UP. That can't be right. It can't be. It's not fair. Why does everything bad always have to happen to _him_? Gaara!" Naruto shouted directly into the corpse's face. "Wake _up_, you idiot!"

Itachi's eyes met Sasuke's in a moment of wordless communication. Sasuke nodded, and moved to stand beside Naruto, who had lain Gaara down on the ground and was incapable of holding in his tears.

Itachi eyed Naruto's breakdown with clinical interest. He had expected more from him. Falling apart on a battlefield did no one any good. Let the dead morn the dead, there were other considerations.

"Where is Sakura?" he asked Sasuke.

"Finishing up the other Akatsuki," Sasuke said. "What happened to the one in the forest?"

Something dangerous lit in Itachi's eyes. "You let her fight the Akatsuki _alone_?"

"Someone had to watch this idiot," he said gesturing to Naruto who was still lost in grief. "Sakura had an elder of Sand to back her up. She'll be fine."

Itachi didn't say anything; he just turned to scan the area for Sakura's chakra.

Sasuke crouched down to meet Naruto's eyes. "Naruto. We need to go back for Sakura. Now."

"I'm not leaving him," Naruto snarled.

"Then take him with us," Sasuke said, standing. "And hurry. That Akatsuki said his master was even stronger than he was."

Itachi was already gone.

X

Sakura watched as the damn head finally stopped talking. She hurt in places she didn't want to think of, the places the chakra strings had attached to her stung, her stomach was cramping from the force of the chakra Chiyo had forced into her and she had never felt so exhilarated.

"Sakura, are you alright?"

"I feel like I have been mauled, but I'm okay." She stood slowly and tested her limbs. Once she had a chance to rest, what was left would be easy enough to heal. If Naruto or Sasuke managed to get themselves half-killed she was going to be in trouble, but for the moment she savored her victory.

She had beaten an Akatsuki. Closing her eyes, she tasted that thought before opening them again to look around the cave. Or what was left of the cave. With the roof blown off, sunlight brought a different view of what exactly they had managed to do.

Sasuke was going to have _kittens_.

"We'll, I'm glad I didn't have to face that alone." Sakura muttered.

"You did well. Your village is honored by your actions today." Chiyo told her, a slight smile on her wrinkled face. "It was an honor to fight by your side, Sakura."

Sakura bowed as best she could with her stomach muscles locking up on themselves before turning back to the puppet. "I hate to say this, but we better deal with what's left of him."

Chiyo was silent and Sakura turned. Her eyes softened at the abject misery on the older face. "Don't worry. I can do it."

"We need to destroy the heart."

Sakura sighed. She was out of weapons and she didn't dare touch anything on the ground. Pulling a face, she strode over to the puppet and used the tiniest amount of chakra she could to weaken the cover. Reaching inside, she made a face at the warmth of the organ in her hands.

She heard a noise, felt Chiyo gasp and pulled the heart out, squeezing with her fingers as she did so. It gave under her chakra-induced grip and oozed between her fingers.

"That is so gross." Naruto's voice was weak.

Sakura's head snapped up and she found Sasuke and Naruto starring at her with equally ill expressions, but it was the expression on Itachi's face that stole her rational thought.

There were very few moments in Itachi's life where he could remember being impressed. There were even less where he could remember being surprised. The fact that he was now both was only marginalized by the sudden, sharp; _hungry _desire he felt when he watched Haruno Sakura crush a human heart.

She was standing in the center of what had once been a cave. The entrance to the cave had been destroyed, and large holes punched through the roof, allowing light to shine in like spotlights. There were pieces of puppets strewn around like discarded body parts, dripping with a purple liquid like blood. And she – she was standing in the center of it all, the only evidence that she had been involved in the fight a scrape on her cheek and the sweat which plastered her hair to her neck.

Sakura had her arm at a right angle as she held the heart face-level. The look on her face was clinical, removed, and entirely unaffected when she crushed the container. The blood spurted outward, and dribbled down her arm.

The other teammate muttered something, drawing Sakura's attention away from the glorious mess in her hand.

She paled ever so slightly, but Itachi knew it wasn't because of what she'd done. He knew that some of his hunger was reflected in his expression. He wanted it to be. Everything in her called out to him, to wrap himself around her and possess her, to know her every part, every inch of her soul.

He watched her lower her hand and drop the heart to the ground at her feet like it was nothing. Itachi took a step towards her, barely conscious he had done so.

"So!" Sakura said, her voice unnaturally high. "We won here. What happened with you guys? Where's Gaara?"

'Why is Itachi _here_?'

Her eyes locked onto Sasuke's but he was starring at her, a mixture of pride and horror in his eyes. Naruto just looked constipated and she latched onto the thought, desperate to ignore the eyes that were burning against her skin, that hot look that had promised more than she was certain she could handle. He looked like he had wanted to… to…

"Damn, Sakura-chan, what did you do?"

She wasn't sure if she was terrified or thrilled. Swallowing, hard, she tried to smile. "Um, well… Naruto!"

He froze, hand centimeters off the ground. Marching towards her blonde friend, Sakura wondered if she could just kick him out of the cave. With force. She settled on bringing her fist down on top of his head before sliding so his body was between her and a still silent Itachi.

"Ow!"

"That is poisoned, you blond-idiot!" Grabbing him by the collar, she heaved. "Now, where is Gaara?"

Cave entrance. Outside in the fresh air, Sakura. Where there isn't blood and death and _Itachi_. Outside.

Naruto stiffened under her fingers and Sakura stopped dragging him. Twisting, stomach muscles complaining at the awkward motion, she stared at him. "Naruto?"

"Gaara…" his voice was rough and broke. Sakura's eyes widened and swung back to Chiyo, who was moving slowly in her direction.

"Gaara is dead."

Sakura blinked rapidly. Forgetting about Itachi and the way his eyes were still burning through her, she opened her arms and Naruto fell into her hug. Tangling her fingers into his blonde hair, she held him for a moment before stepping back.

"We should take him home." She told Naruto gently. He looked away before nodding.

"Yeah."

By the time they reached the cave entrance, Chiyo had been joined by Team Gai and Kakashi. Sakura blinked at how dirty they were.

"What happened to you?"

Neji looked up, eyes flickering behind her. "A minor inconvenience; the Akatsuki member got away."

Kakashi tilted his head. "Uchiha."

"Kakashi." Itachi replied as he approached. "If you continued that, old woman, you'll die."

Sakura's head snapped around but she held her tongue. This was Chiyo's choice to make. Swallowing as she watched the play of emotions on Naruto's face and shifted so she was standing close enough to feel Sasuke's body heat.

She didn't want to watch. It wasn't just that Chiyo was her friend; it was that she could see herself in what she was doing. That could be her some day. That could be – she would never let that happen to Naruto. She couldn't look away but when Naruto placed his hands on Chiyo's to share chakra in this desperate attempt to save Gaara, she had to. Wrapping her arms around herself, she stared instead back into the cave. She knew it was almost dishonoring to look away as her friend – Sasori's grandmother, an Elder of Sand, perhaps even Gaara's friend – sacrificed herself not only for her Kazekage, but perhaps looking for some way to right the wrongs of her family. _Honor_. And she couldn't watch.

Instead, she concentrated on facts. She had the hand seals now; she knew what she could do with them. She understood herself better than she had ever in her life and they had all but declared war on the Akatsuki.

What was going to happen next?

X

"So you squished a heart?"

Sakura slipped and crashed right back into the water she had been attempting to climb out of. Half a day's run out of Sand and they were finally near enough water to bathe. She and Tenten had decided to take advantage and had slipped away to clean themselves up.

Coming up, she spluttered at Tenten who was trying very hard not to laugh at her.

"What?"

Twisting up her damp hair into those familiar buns, Tenten smiled at her. "Naruto. It's all he has been able to talk about. Sasuke actually tried to punch him. So I thought I'd ask."

"Yes. I did. Nothing like a fresh organ sliding through a girls fingers to make her happy." She tried to keep her face straight, but the way Tenten's nose wrinkled in obvious disgust sent her into peals of laughter.

When she had finally finished, Tenten was offering her a hand out of the water, her eyes laughing.

"I think I know why Lee likes you so much now."

Sakura froze. _Lee. Itachi. _Not a good combination for her already frazzled nerves. The last few days had been a hard run back to Konoha to report so there hadn't been that much time for conversation. Figured that Naruto would manage it.

"Of course," Tenten continued, her dark eyes dancing, "Uchiha-san also seemed to be… appreciative."

Sakura scowled as she pulled her clothes back on. A flair of chakra and the damp clothing was dry.

"Thanks, Tenten."

"No problem. I'm meeting Neji to throw a few kunai around over there." She pointed away from camp. "Interested?"

"No thanks."

"See you at dinner, then." Tenten said cheerfully.

Sakura rubbed her eyes in with her palms. This had been one hell of a diplomatic mission. At least they were assured Sand's support in the event of a Sound/Cloud alliance. There was no way that Gaara would leave them in the lurch now.

Sakura tried not to think about exactly why Gaara was still alive. As a shinobi, Sakura knew objectively that fighting in difficult situations forged a bond. She and Chiyo had depended on each other in the worst sort of situation, and because of that they had come through it alive. She removed her hands from her eyes and stared down at them. With these hands, she had killed an Akatsuki member. Sure, she'd had help, but… she had felt the chakra pulsing from his heart extinguish in her grasp. His heart… the only part of him that was still real.

How could anyone _do _that to themselves? What kind of monsters were they facing?

She looked up a split second before her wrists were lightly, but firmly clasped in Itachi's hands.

"I understand that you're tired," he said, "but you should be more alert to your surroundings."

"Shut-up," Sakura said, pulling at her wrists. His grip only tightened. "You know as well as I do that you can sneak up on damn well anyone you want."

He chuckled, that unexpectedly warm sound which sparked a heat in her stomach, an entirely inappropriate one considering the situation. One of his fingers traced the line of her pulse on her right wrist.

She hid her shiver with a sigh, and met his gaze. "What do you want, Uchiha-san?"

"Many things," he murmured. That light was back in his eyes, and it was similar to the look Sasuke got right before he activated his sharingan. "To begin with, _Sakura_, I would have you call me by my name. Call me Itachi."

Her eyes widened, and she suddenly became aware that he was much closer than he had been moments ago. Had she moved or had he? He was crowding her, trying to make her feel hunted… it only made her irritated. She was the only living person in the world who had killed a member of the Akatsuki. While Sakura was under no illusions about the disparity between her and Itachi's skill level, she refused to be intimidated by him and his pretty eyes and long silky hair.

She tilted her head in an attempt to meet his gaze evenly. "Calling someone by their first name is a privilege that must be _earned_, Uchiha-san, either by familiarity or affection. You are my teammate's brother. I do not believe that would be appropriate to our relationship."

The man should not be allowed to smile like that. It should be made illegal. She'd speak with Tsunade about it when she got back.

"Let me assure you," kami, his voice was like velvet chocolate, "that I hold you in the highest esteem. 'Affection' is the least of what I feel for you. And," he lifted up her hand, her right hand, and the hand which had held Sasori's heart up to his mouth, "I intend to become extremely _familiar _with every part of you."

Her brain was still processing his statement when she felt his lips on the tip of her pinky. Wide-eyed, she stared at him as he kissed each fingertip before pressing a kiss in the precise center of her palm.

"Sakura."

Her brain stuttered at the way he said her name and the way his mouth moved against her skin when he said it. His eyes never left hers as he curled his fingers around hers and then he was that much closer again. Her spine hit the trunk of a tree and she stubbornly held his gaze.

"I think this is all very sudden, Uchiha-san." The words came out more of a whisper than she intended, but he didn't seem to mind. Instead he tangled his fingers in the damp hair at her temple and considered her, eyes moving slowly along her face as he if was looking for something.

"Perhaps."

She narrowed her eyes, irritation giving strength to reactions that had been glazed over by surprise at his early touch.

"I don't like surprises."

That smile was back and she could have sworn he was laughing at her.

"Surprises? I told you, Sakura, I learn from my oversights." He made an almost _tsking _noise in the back of his throat. "I do not repeat the same mistakes."

This conversation was not going where she had expected it to. Shutting her eyes in frustration, she tried again.

"What oversights were those?" She questioned. "I'm your brother's teammate, there is nothing to overlook."

Warm breath ghosted over her cheeks as velvet soft kisses were pressed gently against her closed eyelids. Her eyes snapped open in shock and she found that if she tilted her head in any direction her mouth would brush his. His eyes were almost sharingan bright. His chin raised a fraction, so that his next words were whispered delicately across her lips.

"You're going to be mine, Haruno Sakura."

He thought he had her well and truly trapped. She couldn't move back, she couldn't move to the side, any movement of her head at all would bring her lips in contact with his.

Sakura's eyes narrowed. She briefly entertained the thought of just kissing him, and then shoving him away. She would not be backed into a corner.

But she didn't want to encourage him either. And there was a part of her that she did not trust which was far too enthusiastic about the idea.

So she didn't move forward and she didn't move backward and she ignored the rebellious thrill that raced across her spine at his words and the way her skin was tingling from the touch of his lips. "I do not belong to anyone. And I never will."

Sakura was getting really, really tired of hearing that laugh. Until last week she hadn't even been aware Itachi knew _how _to laugh. And what was worse was that a part of her got so…excited, so satisfied at the sound. She was getting tired of that too.

The hand in her hair loosened and he traced his little finger down her skin by her ear, under her jaw, down her neck until his hand had reached the V of her shirt. In one swift movement, he pulled the material back and shoved something small, hard, and cold into her bindings between her breasts.

"Keep that safe for me," he said against her lips. He moved so that he brushed his cheek across hers until his mouth came to rest just outside her ear. "And get some rest."

And with a nip at her ear lobe, he was gone.

* * *

_**Please Comment**_


	6. Trouble Comes in Threes

**Disclaimer**: We're just messin' with them.

Once again-wow. We are just floored with the positive response this story has received. We want to give particular thanks to those repeat reviewers who are leaving detailed reviews, as we really enjoy hearing about your interactions with the story. Thank you all so much!

* * *

_2 and 1/2 Years Ago  
_Konoha Training Grounds

Sakura studied the form sprawled out on the training ground. There were signs of his temper – scorched trees, several bent shuriken – but anyone who didn't know him would have thought he was simply relaxing after a difficult bout of training. Sakura knew differently. Sasuke was _sulking_.

Rubbing her hands on the sides of her skirt, she considered him. She had shown up to tell him the good news. Naruto was coming home soon, but there was something about the way he was deliberately refusing to acknowledge her that told her it wouldn't be taken as well as she hoped. Ever since she had splintered that tree in front of his nose, he had never let her walk up on him. He always made a point to let her know he knew she was there.

Today he was flat out ignoring her. Pressing her lips together, she considered going back to the tower to finish those scrolls she had abounded and then decided against it. She refused to be intimidated by a sulking Uchiha. Stepping around several unsheathed blades, she settled next to him, starring at his face.

"What's wrong?"

He cracked one eye open and it was sharingan red. "Go away, Sakura."

She snorted and nudged his hip with her foot. "That might work with other people, Uchiha Sasuke, but it won't work with me. What's wrong?"

He shut his eye. He was silent for several moments and when she nudged him again he sighed at her. "My father is going to formally petition the Hokage that I be placed on a chunin ready team _now_, so that I may take the exam in six months."

"_What_?" Sakura shot to her feet and stared down at him.

He opened both his eyes and they were black, but she could still see the sharingan smoldering behind his eyes. "By the time my brother was our age, Sakura-chan; he was jounin and had been ANBU for years."

She clenched her fists. If it hadn't been for sharingan – it always came out when he was the most emotionally unstable – she would have thought he didn't care. Well, she hadn't spent the last three years busting her ass with Tsunade and everyone else who had trained her just so Sasuke could abandon them.

"You're not Itachi!" She snapped it at him, uncaring at how hard her voice sounded to her own ears. "You're _Sasuke_!"

Something shifted in his expression. Something minute that she couldn't put her finger on. It gave her hope.

"They don't care."

"Well I do. And so does Naruto." She swallowed. "I swear I'll beat you bloody if you ever think we don't."

He closed his eyes again, shutting her out. "The clan doesn't care, Sakura."

"What can you possibly gain by being a chunin without a team?" She let herself sink down into a sitting position. She was willing to conserve her strength. It would give her more to work with when she tried to kick his ribs in.

"ANBU."

She snorted. "Do you want to be ANBU?"

Sasuke was silent again and this time she jabbed him in the shoulder with the slightest bit of chakra.

"No."

"Then don't." She ordered. "We haven't spent the past three years training to quit now! I just got a letter from Naruto today and he is going to be home sometime next month. That gives us five months to learn how to work together again for the Chunin exams. Stay with us."

Sasuke sighed, sitting up. "The clan…"

"I don't care about _the clan_!" She wanted to hit him. "Do you think Tsunade does either?"

His eyes were sharp now. "What do you mean?"

She swallowed, her mind frantically working through ever answer she could possible give before settling in on the one she thought was mostly likely to work. Helping Tsunade out with her paperwork had some unexpected benefits when it came to understanding the details that made Konoha function.

"Not everyone cares so much about clans, Sasuke-kun. We appreciate what they do for the village, but not everyone is going to bend just because they ask it." She sucked in a deep breath. "You're learning to how to summon snakes from Anko, right?"

His face was so close to hers, his breath was brushing her lips. He'd sat up so quickly, she hadn't even seen him move. It was a good thing she had gotten over her crush on him years ago, or she would be blushing. "How did you know about that?"

She would have lifted her chin but she refused to risk kissing him. "I'm learning how to summon Katsuyu from Tsunade. Naruto can summon Gamabunta… well, sometimes."

Sasuke tilted his head at her. "So?"

"You can be such an _idiot_," she gritted out. "Do you think Anko volunteered _herself _to teach you a summons? Or do you think Tsunade thought that having three students on the same team who can copy what her old team used to do would be a good idea? She knows we are going to have to face Orochimaru again and do you really think she is going to let some _clan _dictate something that would ruin years of work?"

Sasuke just continued to watch her, but she could almost see the wheels spinning behind his eyes.

"_Think_, Sasuke! Stop being as dense as Naruto!" She poked him. She _wanted_ to slug him. "It's going to take more than your precious clan to break up our team. Dammit, unless you go to Tsunade and tell her you're not interested, we should be okay."

His eyes were flat. "How long do you think Konoha allows teams to stay together, Sakura?"

"As long as we are damn useful," she snapped back. "I plan on making Jounin, Sasuke. Are you telling me that you don't plan on that?"

"Itachi—"

"Get. It. Through. Your. Skull!" Sakura reached over and shook him. "You're. Sasuke! Your path is different than your brother's! Make Jounin with us. Naruto has to go into ANBU if he wants to be Hokage and he is going to need you, you big idiot! Fight for us and with us!"

Sasuke sighed. "It's not that easy."

"Bullshit." She clenched her fingers around his arms but he didn't seem to notice. "Do you want to stay with us or not, Sasuke. Yes or No."

He stared at her for a long time and she refused to back down. Finally he shook his head.

"Yes."

"Then stop being such a… a… civilian about it and buck up!" She pointed a finger at him. "Surely you can hold the clan off for a month! One month!"

He blinked. "I suppose."

"Then do it. Find the resources you need and do it! I'm not going to give up on you, Sasuke-kun, don't you dare give up on us."

He stood in a smooth motion, tilting his head as he stared down at her. Sakura could practically see the way his brain was processing things, and then to her surprise, he offered his hand. "Okay."

She blinked, letting him pull her to her own feet. "Okay?"

"One month, Sakura."

She couldn't contain her smile. "You won't give up on us?"

He snorted. "I don't think your giving me much of a choice."

"Damn straight." Sakura said. "I'd break your legs and drag you into Tsunade's office myself if I had to."

He ignored her comment and looked at the sun. "Are you hungry?"

"You want to eat lunch with me?"

"Isn't that something teammates do?"

Her smile widened. "Yes. Yes it is."

X

___Present Day  
_Hokage Tower

Sakura stared at the files on Tsunade's desk, her mind replaying over and over the past week. They had arrived in Konoha two days quicker than expected, partly because Gai and Kakashi couldn't be on the same mission without challenging each other to something ridiculous (this time, it had involved running) and partly because everyone had reasons to be home. The entire run she'd once again been tempted to strangle Sasuke. Especially after Lee had demanded the right to defend her "youthful vigor" since the Uchiha had obviously upset her.

This was all Sasuke's fault. She wasn't sure how it was Sasuke's fault, but some gut instinct told her that he was at the root of her problem. It made her want to squish him.

Clenching her fingers, she sighed and crossed her arms, ignoring the look on Tsunade's face. Okay, so maybe it wasn't _all_ Sasuke's fault. He didn't get to choose who his brother was. Somehow, she felt that squishing that heart where the obviously insane Uchiha could see it hadn't been _wise_. It appeared that he had a… she didn't want to call it a _fetish_, but the man obviously appreciated violence in a way that wasn't healthy.

Okay, so it _might_ be a fetish.

"Sakura, what about the poison that was used on Kankuro?"

"Same poison base that we extracted from Shisui a few weeks ago. We need to have it added to the medical kit that the ANBU carry with them into the field. I'm not sure how Rock-nin got their hands on the same poison that Sasori had. He claimed he had created it, which is probably true, and that means that someone leaked it. It wouldn't surprise me if we saw it again."

Itachi was tracking Akatsuki or someone involved with Akatsuki. She knew that Orochimaru was one of his high priorities, but what connections did the two have? Her stomach felt funny at the thought of Itachi getting himself poisoned and she brushed it off. Kabuto had other poisons to use. Odds were Itachi was aware of what he was going up against.

She refused to worry about that… that… _Uchiha_.

"We will have antidotes made up for all the teams today. Is there anything else that needs to be reported now?"

"I don't think so," Tenten said. "I mean, it's obvious that we need more information about the Akatsuki and we need to do find out what they are trying to accomplish, but nothing that we found at the site can be used in that way."

"It is obvious that they are interested in their own goals." Neji said quietly. "We don't have to fear them interfering in the Cloud/Sound alliance unless they feel they can gain something from it."

There was a long, tense silence.

"I expect written reports from all team leaders as well as Kakashi on my desk by tomorrow." Tsunade said firmly. "I don't care if the details seem unimportant. I want them."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Good. The rest of you have the next two days off. After that, your teams will be placed on active roster again." She lowered her eyes back to the paperwork on her desk, dismissing them.

"Sakura!" Lee said as he darted over. "I would be honored to treat you to dinner!"

Sakura looked over and sighed at the hopeful expression there. She liked Lee, really. He was her friend. But dealing with his 'youthful vigor' for long periods of time was not a skill she had mastered, especially when she was this tired. Opening her mouth, she was startled when Sasuke stepped forward.

"She is eating with _us_."

The 'us' in that sentence was very obviously not Team Gai. Sakura bit her lip and Lee shrugged, offering her thumbs up. "Perhaps another time then, Sakura-chan!"

Tenten waved. "I'll keep him out of trouble."

"Tenten! I am never in trouble!"

Neji shook his head. "Sasuke, I will be in the library early if you're interested in comparing reports."

"That's acceptable."

"Great." Naruto said. "I'm hungry. Where do you want to eat?"

"Not ramen," Sakura and Sasuke said at the same time.

Sakura turned and placed a hand on her hip. "Do we have time to go shower, oh great team leader?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "No."

"Then I get to pick the restaurant." She challenged, her free hand fiddling with her gloves.

"Sure, Sakura," Naruto jumped in. "Just not tempura!"

X

"You shouldn't have said that, idiot." Sasuke snarled.

"How was I supposed to know she would get all female and cranky and demand tempura in response?" Naruto gripped back, slinking low in the booth.

"It's Sakura. She _lives_ to annoy us." Sasuke growled.

Naruto shot him a glance out of the side of his eyes. They sparkled with barely repressed mischief. "Sort of like your brother, right?"

Sasuke shot him a dark look. "Shut. _Up_. Dobe. She's coming back."

Sakura slide into the booth and gave Sasuke her best smile. "Figured out what you want yet?"

"No."

"Tempura is good, Sasuke."

"It tastes like crap."

"Does Itachi like Tempura?" Naruto asked innocently.

It would be hard to tell who reacted first, as two identical lumps sprouted from Naruto's head and Sasuke and Sakura glared at each other.

"Owww…" Naruto said.

"Sasuke," Sakura spoke with the same clipped efficiency she used when involved in an operation, "I believe I asked you to give your brother a message for me. Tell me, how did that go?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "And I believe I told _you_ to refrain from taunting Itachi with blood. It's bad enough that you've caught his attention _anyway_, what the hell were you thinking?

Sakura smiled at him, "Sasuke-_kun_, dodging my question with accusations is not going to help you. I had to destroy the living part of that Akatsuki. I didn't know Itachi was there. Believe me, the _last_ thing I want to do is encourage his _attentions_, as I believe I made perfectly clear to you when _I asked you to tell him to fuck off_."

Naruto edged his chair away from the table. Sasuke and Sakura scarcely noticed.

Sasuke leaned forward in his seat and planted his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands as his gaze locked with Sakura. "I've never known Itachi to do anything without a reason. I've asked you this once before, and I'm asking again: what did you do?"

"Me!" Sakura pushed her chair back from the table and slammed her hand down on it, causing it to rattle. "_I_ didn't do anything! All I've done, all I've _ever done_ around your brother is my job. I have _no idea_ what caused this—this _fixation_, but I _asked _you to take care of it and now he's, he's…"

She trailed off. Even in her temper, she didn't want to reveal to her team that Itachi had backed her in a tree and dropped a ring down her shirt. She didn't want to acknowledge that he'd claimed her. Not until she knew how to deal with it.

"Sakura." The way Sasuke said her name brought back a thousand memories and prodded at long-dead emotions. It instantly got her attention. "I'm trying to help you."

"I know," Sakura ran a shaking hand through her hair, "I know." She sat back down.

"What exactly's going here?" Naruto asked, secure in the knowledge that the next great shinobi war had narrowly been averted.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "We need to know what we're dealing with, Sakura."

"How should I know? He's _your_ brother!"

"Sakura-chan," Naruto reached over and gently grabbed her chin, turning her from Sasuke to meet his blue eyes. "We're a team. Don't be selfish." He leaned forward to butt his forehead lightly against hers and then moved back. "If you're in trouble, share."

"I… I don't know if I'm in trouble."

Sasuke snorted. "Trust me. You're in trouble."

Naruto released Sakura's chin and turned to glare at Sasuke. "Shut-up, teme." He turned back to face Sakura, the gentleness gone from his eyes. What took its place was the confident command Naruto had when he refused to go down in a fight, when he determined that he would win. It was that look that made Sakura believe that one day he'd become Hokage. "Now you tell me, Sakura-chan. I'm not sitting through tempura for anything less than the truth."

"OK," Sakura said. "OK." She took a deep breath. "Last month Tsunade assigned me to go out with Ita – _Uchiha-san's_ ANBU team. Shisui got hit with the same poison that got Kankuro and I had to perform an extraction on the field because we didn't have an antidote. After we got back, I made Uchiha-san stay in the hospital over-night. He'd run close to chakra exhaustion after taking so many missions back-to-back. And after that… I just kept _seeing_ him. First that time with you at the food stand, Sasuke, and then he came to the hospital while I was on my rounds one night, and then, well, you both _saw_ what happened after the fight with Sound."

Naruto nodded. Sasuke's lip curled in a faint expression of disgust.

"After we got back he came and found me while I was out drinking with Ino. Still haven't found out how he knew I was there..."

Sasuke stared back at her with a look of studied innocence.

She didn't let it go. "_Especially_ after I asked you to take care of it, Sasuke."

"Saying 'no' to Itachi is like dangling the last potato chip in front of Chouji," Sasuke said. "You just don't do it. What happened at the bar, Sakura?"

Sakura took a breath; posture stiffening as she glared at Sasuke, but Naruto cut her off, "Sakura-chan. After."

She settled back into her seat, crossed her arms, and grumbled, "I was talking with Kiba and he just… came up and tangled his hand in my hair. Like it was a leash or something. I was drunk. I took him outside to tell him off. He…" Sakura's voice dropped along with her eyes, "he said he wanted to _learn_ me."

Her gaze flickered up just in time to catch Sasuke's horrified expression.

"And apparently," she continued when neither of her teammates responded, "he hasn't changed his mind."

Sasuke eyed her balefully, then turned his hands around and hid his face in them.

"Itachi," he mumbled through his fingers, "has always been a law to himself. He's brilliant. He started setting traps that caught my father at age _three_. He set out at a very young age to learn everything that interested him, and he succeeded." Sasuke cracked his fingers opened and glared at her. "I don't know how you caught his interest. But congratulations. Itachi's never failed to master any subject he chose."

"Sasuke… in view of our long friendship, I am going to give you to the count of three to say _something_ that that _assures_ me that you do not view me as a 'subject.' Like I told your brother, I. Am. A _person_."

Sasuke dropped his hands to the table. "You didn't."

At Sakura's seething glare, his head followed his hands with a dull thud.

Sakura was two steps away from beating Sasuke into a very sorry pulp, when Naruto interrupted, "So – wait. Are you saying Itachi wants to, like, _date_ Sakura?"

Sasuke grunted assent.

"Huh," Naruto said, turning the idea over in his brain. Then he grinned, put his hands behind his head, and leaned his chair back on its hind legs. "Well, you can't fault him for taste."

"Na-ru-to," Sakura slammed a hand down on the table between them and leaned forward, "I don't think you get it. I don't _want_ to date It—_Uchiha-san_."

Naruto shrugged, "So don't. Just say no. It's not that big a deal, Sakura-chan." He let the front legs of his chair touch the ground again and gave her a feral grin. "And if it ever _becomes_ a big deal, we'll deal with it. As a team."

Somehow, the words that had always reassured her fell flat. The dull thud that came from Sasuke as his head hit the table once again only added to her impression of impending doom.

X

She spent two days ignoring her problem. Part of it was deliberate and part of it was for self-survival. It- _Uchiha-san_ was still out on his mission. That was a luxury she knew not to take for granted, but in a fit of self indulgence she had thrown herself back into her medical work and ignored any and all attempts of her team and friends to drag her out of the relative safety of her home.

Once her backlog had been taken care of at the hospital and she was caught up on the scrolls that Tsunade wanted her to research, she found herself with time on her hands and without excuses. So the night she found herself sitting on her couch, glaring at the pile of scrolls she had brought home – who knew that the advanced study of herb grinding was so boring? – she gave in and made the conscious decision to deal with her problem.

She couldn't underestimate Uchiha Itachi. He had a head start for formulating any plans so she would treat this like a mission. It was time to figure out her own plan of action and to do that she first needed to catalogue what she knew about the Uchiha heir.

Her starting point had been obvious. _Sasuke_. Her teammate wouldn't actually answer any questions if she directly probed and she had the faint feeling that he, that both of them, would consider what she was doing an act of war. Odds were if Sasuke realized what she was doing he would tie her to a chair in Naruto's apartment and force feed her ramen until she saw the error of her ways. Still, she wasn't stupid enough to ignore Itachi _twice_. He had played his hand first and now she was going to play her own. She was _not_ _a subject_ and she was _not weak_ and she _would not_ allow herself to be put inside one of Itachi's stupid games and_ played_.

So she wasn't physically his match. Mentally, he probably had the edge, but she _was_ smart. The only mednin who were better than her were Tsunade and Shizune and they could only claim experience as their edge. Her chakra calculations were always perfect and she was an intelligent, capable woman. Itachi wasn't the only one who excelled at everything he put his mind to.

So what did she _know_?

She knew he was a genius. So much so that even Sasuke was wary of exactly what was going on in his brother's mind. The relationship between the two had always been a bit odd, but she knew from personal experience how closely they watched each other's backs. She was fairly certain that only Orochimaru had dared attack what Itachi protected twice and she was also _very_ certain that Itachi would kill him for it. She hoped she didn't ever hear the details of that particular kill.

So he was _homicidally_ protective. He seemed to be sane, but there was a streak in him that was anything but. Remembering the way he had kissed her fingers, she clenched and unclenched her fists. It hadn't escaped her notice that the hand he had chosen to… well, it had been the hand she had used to finish off Sasori. He appreciated blood. She had the uneasy feeling he considered violence a sort of foreplay.

That was not a _stable_ mind.

But he was brilliant in the field. He had the capability to take apart the enemy's weakness and correlate back to his team _exactly_ what was necessary to win. He took the responsibility he had accepted seriously. He loved a good challenge. She was certain those matches with Shikamaru over a shogi board were deadly.

She didn't know enough about what made him tick. She only knew his basic responses, not what thought process created those responses. She didn't know his weaknesses and besides taking a peak at his ANBU file, she only knew the _choices_ he had made. Again, she was lacking information on his thinking patterns. She didn't understand his thought process. In order to beat him, she needed more information and she wasn't going to be able to get _that_ without going to the source and she was very unwilling to do that.

So she would have to use what she had. It wasn't much, but it gave her something. She knew her own strengths and weaknesses and she already had a list of people who she could go to for help if it became absolutely necessary, people who had never let her down in the past. Biting her lip, Sakura had the sinking feeling that that wasn't going to be enough this time. So she needed something else. Running her fingers through her hair, she stood.

She _knew_ she was missing something.

She paused in the middle of her living room, eyes widening.

That blasted ring.

What had he said? _'Keep this safe for me_.' Sprinting to her bedroom, she dove to her knees and dug through the pile of clothes in the bottom of her closet and pulled up a loose board. Sticking her hand inside, she fished around until she found what she was looking for. Picking up the small cloth bag she had tossed the ring into, too furious to actually deal with it, she headed into the living room where the light was better.

It was a very garish piece of jewelry. Heavy lines of gold and an ugly, flat looking stone. The closer she looked, the more familiar the ring became. It wasn't until she turned it so that the stone caught the light that she realized what it was.

Sasori's ring.

What the _hell_? Why would Itachi have gone back to get the dead puppet master's ring? _When_ had he gone back to get it? Why had he given it to _her_? If it was some sort of sick memento she was going to _kill him_.

Sakura took a deep breath. As crazy as Itachi seemed to be at times, he never did anything without a reason. This meant that there was something important about this ring that he hadn't wanted anyone to find out about. He hadn't taken it with him on the mission he had left to check up on Sasuke. That could mean one or two things and both of them made her uneasy.

Grabbing a blank scroll, she set the ring on the table and studied it. Those lines in the gold looked deliberate and she didn't recognize the stone immediately. Itachi wouldn't be gone forever and if she wanted to figure out this puzzle then she would need to copy every detail she could find onto a scroll to refer to later. Maybe she would even have time tomorrow to go digging through the library to research jewelry and stones and how shinobi could use them. It wasn't something she considered before, and if worse came to worse; Sakura had a hunch that Kurenai would know something about jewels.

Somehow, figuring out the puzzle before Itachi came home felt like it would give her a leg up on the older Uchiha. _Leverage_. She was going to need that for their next meeting. Lips curling into a delighted smile, Sakura got to work.

X

Sakura stared at the pile of medical scrolls she had been organizing for Tsunade, wondering when her mid-afternoon energy rush was going to hit. The last three nights had been _almost_ sleepless and she was starting to feel the effects. Apparently it was obvious enough that Tsunade had taken her off medical rounds for the day and stuck her in her office, re-organizing the shelves and boxes of scrolls that never seemed to end in the Hokage's office.

Not sleeping had been worth it though. She was pretty certain that she had organized, charted and examined every inch of the ring. She had used up three scrolls to do it; one just for the individual symbols that had been carved into the ring, not to mention the designs the ring had been formed into itself. She was fairly certain that there was another layer to the ring that she wasn't catching. Something to do with the stone. The library scrolls hadn't been much help, and she hadn't had time to track down Kurenai.

She _had_ discovered that whatever the symbols were supposed to do, they were activated by blood. She wasn't sure if the blood was a one-time ordeal or if the user had to bleed every time they wanted to use it like with summoning, but at least she had a direction now in which to move in.

She just couldn't help but feel that there was a key she was missing. That damn stone was her problem but there was something else that always seemed to be hovering just outside of her perception. It was starting to drive her crazy. It had kept her up last night, starring at the ring until almost dawn, trying to figure out what piece she wasn't seeing. Not that it had done her a lot of good, and today she was tired. If only she knew how long Itachi was going to be gone. Then she might have been able to get some actual sleep instead of trying to get all the information she needed copied down and hidden before his return.

Running her fingers through her bangs, she turned at the sound of the door opening and blinked at the sight of Tsunade with a bag in her hand.

"I thought you were going to be in meetings all afternoon?"

"I got lucky and was able to force Shizune into some of them instead." Tsunade said with a smile. "Here, you might need these."

Sakura blinked at her before opening the bag and grinning. Dango. The sugar wasn't the best way to replace lost sleep, but the sweet treat would always be a welcome surprise.

"How are things going?"

Sakura chewed and swallowed hurriedly. "Okay. I'm halfway through the last box of scrolls that you had someone steal from the village of Mist."

Tsunade shot her an amused smile. "They were offered."

Sakura lifted a brow. "I imagine they were. Who was torturing them?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No comment."

"Right," Sakura muttered. She slid a long look at Tsunade from the corner of her eye. "There was some pretty interesting stuff though. Do you think I could look through them sometime?"

"The box of Mist scrolls? All that's in there is a bunch of ninjutsu."

Sakura shook her head. "No. Well, I would look at those just for pure curiosity, but there were other things. Like those scrolls from Sand that dealt with chakra control or the unmarked stuff that looks like its blood stained and possibly from Cloud."

_'And the box of scrolls that had to do with summoning spells. I would really like to see those._'

Tsunade pursed her lips. "It's going to depend on the scrolls, Sakura. Let me know what you're interested in and I'll see. You would have to read most of them here, though. Some of those we aren't supposed to have. You can take the box of Sand scrolls home with you. _Those_ are part of the treaty, so there is nothing too important in them. You might find something interesting, but don't be too disappointed if you don't."

"Thank you." Sakura murmured before finished off the last of the dango and moving to go back to the box of Mist scrolls. "Where do you want…"

The window opened. Sakura wasn't too surprised. It was the favorite access point for most of the ANBU who preferred not to walk the halls. Turning around, she tilted her head at the vaguely familiar person and then froze when the mask was lifted away from his face.

_Itachi_. He was home.

X

Itachi had been less than amused to begin with. He had been forced to walk away from what promised to be a _very_ entertaining reaction from a certain medic-nin, not only because he had to return to the hunt, but because he had been… uncertain… as to how long his control would hold, with her in his arms and her hands resting lightly against him.

She hadn't run. The strength of will that demonstrated was matched by the strength demonstrated in the destruction of that cave and all _one hundred_ puppets, which only highlighted the ruthless intelligence she had demonstrated when she crushed that Akatsuki heart in her hand. Glorious.

He wondered how she'd react to that little puzzle he'd dropped in her lap – or more accurately, down her shirt. His expectations might be a bit high, but she'd set the standard herself. Itachi admitted to himself that he'd be disappointed if she'd left it alone. Pushing down anticipation of a kind he'd never felt before had made him irritable.

Tracking Kabuto back to Sound only increased his foul mood. The knowledge that Orochimaru was alive was bad enough, being within sensing distance of the snake made him grit his teeth. He wanted Orochimaru dead. It would be so easy. Itachi was accustomed to doing what he wanted, and following the Hokage's orders in this case chafed.

But he had held, and he had accomplished his mission. His suspicions were confirmed, Kabuto was working as a double agent for Orochimaru. He now had the current location of Sound as well as the knowledge of just who he needed to follow to track down more information about the Akatsuki. He'd overheard enough information to confirm that Cloud and Sound had allied against Konoha.

But along with that information came the added benefit which had forced him to race home to Konoha before he violated his word. Orochimaru wanted a new body. He was tired of waiting. He was going to be coming after Sasuke.

Orochimaru was never going to _touch_ his little brother.

Sasuke was his to protect. He'd made it so. He'd warned Orochimaru. And if he ever came _close,_ to hell with his mission. Itachi had his own priorities. Filled with the desire to go home and see Sasuke, aware that if he stayed longer he'd kill Orochimaru anyway, and curious to see what Haruno Sakura had done with herself in the meantime, Itachi had left Sound and hurried home.

It had been unfortunate for that group of Cloud-nin who were nearing Konoha's boarders. While technically they were still outside of Konoha's territory, Itachi had been in no mood for technicalities. He didn't even feel like playing games. They did not deserve the dignity of genjutsu; they were conspiring to threaten his own. He'd kept one alive long enough to extract the information that they had, indeed, been sent on a foray to gather more information about Konoha, specifically about the weaknesses of the Uchiha compound, before taking his time tearing him apart.

Itachi hoped Cloud found the pieces. But he doubted it.

He was satisfied but still half-feral when he approached the Hokage's tower. An automatic chakra scan of the building revealed that two people were in her office, the Hokage herself and her lovely little apprentice. Itachi licked his lips behind his mask, an eager light coming into his eyes.

He'd have to be very careful. It wouldn't do to give the game away.

He released his hold on his chakra just before appearing at the Hokage's window. Many ANBU preferred to keep their anonymity, even when reporting, but Itachi wanted Sakura to know _exactly_ who'd come into the room. He lifted his rat mask while still perched on the windowsill and met her wide eyes with his own.

The shock there unleashed something warm and aggressive in his stomach, and it took an effort not to move forward and back her against the wall and run his hands down her hair, down her sides, to her hands, while she looked up at him with those eyes and her mouth slightly opened…

Itachi sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and bit it lightly as he dropped his gaze from hers and very deliberately took in her appearance, starting from her toes and leisurely working his way up.

He released his lip when his eyes reached her face and her own were not ready to meet them. While he had been looking her over, she had risen to the challenge and instead of standing there blushing like a schoolgirl, she was in the process of giving him a very thorough inspection. He could appreciate that she took the opportunity to do so while he was distracted, and rewarded her by making his movements deliberately sinuous as he straightened and stepped into the room.

Her eyes were still on him, and Itachi was suddenly acutely aware of his appearance. He had not been neat with the invading Cloud-nin.

"Uchiha Itachi," Tsunade drawled, "I remember sending you out to track Kabuto. Not to inspect a slaughterhouse."

Itachi straightened, dragging his gaze from Sakura to meet the hard eyes of the Hokage. Deliberately, he flicked his gaze back to Sakura before raising an eyebrow to Tsunade.

"If I wanted Sakura to leave, I would have asked her to," Tsunade said, eyes narrowing.

"Report."

Itachi filed the observation of exactly how highly Sakura was trusted by the Hokage away before complying with Tsunade's order. "There was a four man team of Cloud shinobi invading our northeastern border. I killed them."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Fantastic. Did you disappear them?"

Itachi nodded. While they were justified in killing shinobi who trespassed into their territory, Cloud technically still had a treaty with Konoha. While things were heading to a war already between the two villages, it would speed things along unnecessarily if the Cloud-nin's remains were ever identified. Itachi had made sure to leave the clearing splattered with their blood as a warning, but their bodies had been thoroughly 'disappeared.' It was a rookie question, but he supposed Tsunade had to verify it.

"What did you learn from them before you killed them?"

Itachi crossed his arms, "They confirmed what I had already discovered in Sound. Cloud's formed an alliance with Orochimaru for the destruction of Leaf. Cloud has a specific interest in the Hyuuga bloodline, just as Orochimaru has an interest in the Uchiha. This team's mission had been reconnaissance."

Sakura let out a low hiss. Tsunade turned her attention towards Sakura and Itachi allowed himself to turn and look at her as well.

"That snake bastard still wants Sasuke," Sakura spoke to her mentor, her words controlled and even. Her hands were clenched at her sides. "He's not going to get to _touch_ him."

Itachi shoved down the impulse to move and catch her jutting lower lip in his. That beautiful ferocity was directed at protecting _his_ baby brother. He'd have to give her an especially nice thank you later.

"No," Itachi agreed, putting a hint of steel into his voice. Sakura's eyes snapped back to his, her eyes widening at the expression on his face. "He will _not_."

He swung his eyes back to Tsunade, meeting her gaze calmly. She gave the barest hint of a nod, confirming that she remembered his warning.

"Anything else?" Tsunade questioned, nails tapping lightly at her desk.

Sakura only half listened to the rest of Itachi's report as her brain processed the fact that Orochimaru was going to go after her teammate _again_. Fists clenching, she forced herself to pay attention to what was going on between Tsunade and Itachi. There was some very subtle body language here, messages she had to watch carefully to catch.

"I will expect a complete report on my desk by morning." Tsunade informed him, dismissing him with a flick of her fingers. "Go wash off that blood."

Itachi gave a short bow before lifting his eyes to her face. Sakura froze at that look. The way she could almost _see_ hints of the sharingan behind his eyes as he took her in before his hand lifted and flicked his mask into place.

The room seemed so much emptier without his presence to fill it.

* * *

Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed it.


	7. Kei Pieces

**Disclaimer: If we owned Naruto, it would be a VERY different story...**

* * *

_14 Years Ago_  
Uchiha Compound

Nine-year-old Itachi cracked an eye open.

"Aniki?"

Sasuke's clumsy attempts to open his door had pulled him out of a perfectly good sleep. His voice wavering suggested that Sasuke was still scared of the dark, a trait that Itachi had never understood. Darkness was a shinobi's friend, not something to be scare off. Still, ka-chan had explained that Sasuke was just reacting to being alone, and Itachi supposed he could understand that better.

Still, the last few days he had been working with his ka-chan on the application of advanced genjutsu and he was tired. He grimaced. When he finally got some time to himself, he had been forced to deal with Inuzuka and Shisui. Both who seemed destined to cause him problems when he just wanted to be left alone. He really wished his ka-chan hadn't forbidden him from practicing genjutsu on anyone outside of training.

A small smile curved his lips. Hadn't Shisui been asking him to train with him lately?

"Aniki, are you 'wake?" Sasuke's voice had a definite wobble to it now.

Giving in, he sat up and considered the three-year-old standing in his room, holding his favorite blanket and looking sleepy.

"What it is, Sasuke?"

Relief showed on his small face and he pulled his blanket closer. "I hungry."

Itachi blinked. "Did you eat at dinner?"

His ka-chan had been doing dishes when he had returned home from spending the evening meal at the Aburame's and he doubted Sasuke would have been left to go hungry. The invitation to dinner had proven an excellent chance to catalogue if there was any difference in their clan's food intake as they supported the hives they wore under their skin. The meal would have considered a disappointment if he hadn't noticed Itsuki's baby cousin – Shino? – playing with his bugs. The acute expression of concentration suggested that working with their bugs took some practice. He was going to have to keep an eye on the tiny Aburame.

Sasuke nodded at him almost frantically, his eyes wide. "Yes."

"Then why are you hungry?"

His little face scrunched up and he hesitated. "I shouda ate more?"

Itachi shook his head and finally stood up, sighing heavily. Little brothers could be so annoying. He was fairly certain by the time he was Sasuke's age he had been sneaking into the kitchen to find left over rice if he was hungry, not waking up his parents. Itachi's brows lowered. Of course, oto-san wouldn't have liked it very much if Sasuke had tried to wake them up. His brother was at least smart enough to know that.

Not that it mattered. Ka-chan and oto-san were out that evening with the Hokage, and he had been left to baby-sit. Walking to his door, he was about to step into the hallway when a small hand caught his pants.

"Aniki?"

Looking down, Itachi lifted a brow.

"Isa dark." He whispered. "Can you turn on the light?"

Small, short arms were too little to reach the lights and he obviously couldn't expect Sasuke to walk up walls. Itachi considered his brother's request and finally shook his head.

"No."

Sasuke swallowed visibly and clutched his blanket tighter, eyes turning to liquid. Sighing, Itachi settled onto his haunches and studied the small face before him.

"You're scared of the dark."

Sasuke looked at him with those too-wide eyes. His ka-chan's eyes. "I not scared." He hesitated. "Just wanna light."

"Why?"

Sasuke pulled his blanket further under his chin. "Oto-san said bad-nin are inna dark. That they take away bad children who don't train."

Itachi resisted the urge to rub his nose. "Sasuke."

"Ka-chan said no training." Sasuke whispered. His eyes scrunched up and he wailed his next words. "I don't wanna get taken."

Itachi felt a spark of irritation at their father. "Sasuke."

Looking miserable, Sasuke lowered his eyes. "He said so."

Itachi blew out his breath and tried to think of what his Ka-chan would have done to deal with this. This time he really did rub his nose. He should have suspected his oto-san would have said something like that. He vaguely remembered a similar speech when he was a child, but by then he had been sneaking out of his room to see how many rice balls he could eat without his ka-chan knowing and his oto-san catching him. The suggestion that bad-nin would try to take him while he was sneaking around would have been taken as a challenge.

"Sasuke." Those dark eyes lifted to his face. "Bad-nin can't get you while I'm here."

Sasuke looked at him for a long time before nodding. "Okay."

"If I'm not here, ka-chan won't let them get you either. But," he made his voice stern and Sasuke hunched a little. He might as well teach his little brother the first lesson in sneaking since it was obvious Sasuke wasn't going to pick it up himself. Really, little brothers could be so _bothersome_. "That doesn't mean you can't learn how to hide so they can't find you."

Sasuke little brows bunched together. "Hide?"

"The first thing any good shinobi does is learn how to hide." Itachi said calmly. "That way they aren't seen unless they want to be seen."

"How they do that?"

"By learning how to move silently in the dark."

"But …"

"Sasuke." Itachi said firmly. "Didn't I just say I wouldn't let them get you?"

He nodded, his bangs flopping against his forehead. "Yes, Aniki."

Itachi stared at him, taking in the still nervous expression in his brother's eyes and sighed. He wanted to go back to sleep at some point tonight, and it was obvious that Sasuke was too worked up to properly learn how to sneak currently. He would have to teach him later. He opened his arms. Sasuke looked hopeful and stepped forward.

"This once, Sasuke." He said firmly. "Tomorrow I'll teach you how to move so that even oto-san won't hear you, alright?"

Sasuke smiled as Itachi picked him up and settled him on his back. Sasuke's chin was digging into his shoulder, but Itachi ignored it in favor and wrapping an arm around Sasuke's back to hold him in place.

"Hurry, Aniki," he whispered loudly in his ear. "I hungry."

The kitchen was as dark as his bedroom but Sasuke had relaxed on his back as they walked, whispering some nonsense their oto-san had told him earlier than day. Setting Sasuke onto the counter top, he patted him on the head.

"Now, Sasuke, if I were ka-chan where would I put the rice balls?"

"Inna 'fridge." Sasuke said, eyes wide.

"Good." Itachi said, patting him again before collecting the snack for his brother. Turning with one in each hand, he lifted a brow. "You think you can eat both of these?"

Sasuke nodded, holding out his hands. "Please! Ka-chan said I need to eat lots 'cause I am getting big!"

He leaned against the counter and watched Sasuke carefully to make sure he was taking decent sized bites. Shaking his head as his brother did his best impression of a large cheeked squirrel, he turned his attention to the living room as he felt something against the edge of his perception. It had been faint, barely detectible and if he hadn't been half on alert since ka-chan had charged him to watch Sasuke, Itachi might have brushed it off as nothing. This deep into the compound it was unlikely that someone would sneak in without being caught. Still…

Carefully extending his awareness he felt along the contours of the house. His father's traps were bright against his senses and his mother's genjutsu felt like spider silk. The fact that he couldn't find any trace of the faint disturbance earlier and that it hadn't set either of the protections off made him wary.

Moving silently, Itachi dropped down to the kitchen floorboard. Sliding his fingers into the small crease that most shinobi overlooked he lifted it soundlessly. His mother had insisted on having weapons cache's in several rooms in the house in case of an attack. This one held several kunai and fuuma shuriken. He wouldn't be able to wield the shuriken easily with Sasuke around, so he picked up a brace of kunai and settled the tile back into place. Once he was certain the tile would remain undetected, he moved so that he was standing in front of a cheerful Sasuke who had just finished off his last rice ball.

Activating his sharingan, he let the world sharpen. He couldn't see or feel anything unusual, so he quickly went through the familiar hand signals to upgrade to his highest level. Little fingers tugged at his shirt. At least his brother knew what those hand signals meant.

"Aniki?"

"Hush, Sasuke," he whispered. There. The faintest waiver and then nothing; eyes narrowing he went through another set of hand signals. Slowly, the low level genjutsu settled onto the kitchen floor, ready to be activated by a single motion.

It was unlikely that the attacker would notice the spider silk of this particular genjutsu, but if he tried something heavier then he risked losing his advantage. His goal was to discover the identity of who was sneaking into his home and to get Sasuke out, not to engage him in open combat. Not yet, at least. When he spoke again, he kept his voice low and calm, determined not to rattle his already terrified brother.

"Climb onto my back, Sasuke."

Sasuke did as he was asked. This time he wrapped his legs above his hips and his hands fisted in his shirt instead of clinging to his arms, his little forehead pressing against the back of his neck. Their Ka-chan had spent weeks teaching Itachi how to dodge with his brother clinging to his back in case of an unexpected attack and he was almost as fast with Sasuke as he was without him now.

Itachi moved silently over to the corner that would best guard his back – and Sasuke – and waited.

"Whata we doin?"

"Hiding."

Sasuke tensed and when he spoke again it was in a faint whisper.

"Are the bad nin here?"

"Yes." Itachi whispered back. "But remember, I won't let them _touch_ you."

His little head moved against his neck and Itachi was thankful when he chose to be silent, letting him hone every sense he had on pinpointing the location of the intruder.

X

___Present Day  
_Sakura's Apartment_  
_

Sakura sank into her couch with a sigh. She was so tired. After Itachi's report, the day had seemed to drag on. Then Naruto had dragged her out to dinner. Tsunade had all but ordered her to inform Naruto of the new development with Orochimaru. When she had tried to argue about passing along that information, her sensei had told her that he would have to be told eventually and it might as well be done when Sakura had to deal with it instead of her. So she had then spent the next forty minutes convincing him that going out to kill Orochimaru tonight was a bad idea.

There were days that Tsunade could be so lazy.

Now she was finally home. Clean, fed, and comfortable in old training clothes she had stolen from Naruto and Sasuke; she actually had a drawer of them. Small things like a discarded shirt and a pair of old shorts that neither could wear anymore. They made up most of her sleep wear now.

Picking up one of the scrolls from Sand she had brought home, Sakura kicked her feet up on the armrest of her couch and snuggled down to do some light reading before bed. Her brain wasn't as tired as the rest of her yet, and if she didn't do something to wear herself out she was going to be up all night. Nothing like a little review of chakra control with a new perspective to give the light challenge she needed to rest.

Curling her fingers around a mug of tea, Sakura spread open the first scroll in her lap and started going over facts that she already knew. She was halfway through her third scroll when the knock sounded on her door. She ignored it. She could think of two people off the top of her head that might be bothering her after a long day and she didn't want to talk to either of them. Delving back into the exact amount of chakra needed in order to control a puppet, she growled a little when another knock sounded. This time louder and little more persistent.

Had to be Ino then. Naruto would have already crawled through her windows. She did not want to talk to Ino. Taking a long drink of her tea, she debating getting up and turning the lights off. She shook her head. That would just confirm that she was here, after all. Decision made, she dove back into her scrolls.

"Your traps need considerable work, Sakura."

The scroll had launched from her hand with the precision of a kunai before she had a chance to think. She spun around on the couch and almost upended herself, but managed to be facing him when he caught the scroll, an eyebrow lifted.

"Kunai work better."

"What are you doing here?"

Itachi arched an eyebrow at her. "I believe you have something I asked you to keep."

Sakura was momentarily tempted to tell him that she had lost it and to get the hell out of her apartment. But he'd never believe her and if Sasuke was anything to go on, telling him to leave would be like inviting him straight to bed.

Which… she really should not have thought about while he was standing in front of her.

She narrowed her eyes, "I don't remember there being any 'asking,' about it. You want to tell me how much trouble I'm going to be in for keeping from the Hokage that you gave me Sasori's ring?"

"None, if she doesn't find out," Itachi ran his eyes over her form. "I… appreciate your keeping it for me."

She put her hands on her hips, "Good. I've got a great idea about how you can show your appreciation, too. How about you tell me _exactly_ why you wanted me to keep an Akatsuki ring and give me a _very_ good reason why I shouldn't go tell Tsunade about it right now."

Itachi smiled at her, showing his teeth. "Sakura. I am a Konoha shinobi. I have sworn to report all enemy activates to the Hokage."

Sakura just watched him with narrowed eyes.

Itachi's smile widened.

She'd be lying if she said she was satisfied with that answer. But pushing any further would call his loyalty into question, and Sakura wasn't prepared to go that far. She pursed her lips at him. "Fine. I'll go get it." She pointed a finger at him. "You will stay here, in the living room, and _you_ _won't touch anything_."

Itachi just watched her, that strangely sharp smile on his face mingled with a look she couldn't decipher in his eyes. Growling a little, she turned to march into her room to get him that blasted ring.

Itachi was yanked out of his growing amusement at Sakura's antics when he got a good look at the shirt she was wearing. He had appreciated it when he had entered because it was black and tight enough to hint at her curves, but when she turned he was able to see the red and white fan emblazoned on the back. Even though he knew it had to be one of Sasuke's old shirts, it lit a warmth in his stomach that he couldn't name.

His feet had moved forward before he had actually considered his moving. Her lightly muscled shoulders stiffened under his hands and he bent forward, taking in the scent of her freshly washed hair. Leaning close enough that his lips brushed her ear, he exhaled before speaking.

"Where _did_ you get that shirt, Sakura?" He took his right hand off her shoulder to reach around her body and trace down her left arm with the very tips of his fingers before he settled his hand possessively at her waist.

She stiffened in his embrace. "Your brother is my teammate. I didn't think you'd come over to give me fashion advice, Uchiha-san."

The hand on her left shoulder traveled up to her hair and he weaved his fingers through her still slightly-damp locks before using his grip to turn her head to the side. Her eyes locked with his, her irritation evident.

"It seems to be a bit small for you," he said, barely tracing the tip of his nose down her cheek until his lips hovered over hers. "I'll have to get you one that suits you better."

"Uchiha-san," Sakura was proud that her voice did not waver, even prouder that she somehow managed to remember that violence was a turn-on for this man, when all she wanted to do was move forward and break every bone in his body. "Let me go. Now."

"I thought I told you," he rumbled against her lips, "to call me Itachi." And then pulled her back into his embrace so that her back was nestled against his chest and shifted his head so that his lips were at her throat, warm and wet, and was that his tongue licking her pulse?

Sakura gasped.

His lips massaged the area one more time before he traced his nose up his throat to her ear. Her head had fallen back against his shoulder, and his hair was in her face and when she breathed she smelled the clean scent of him.

"Is it really so hard," he whispered, "to do this one thing I ask?"

She didn't need to respond, because one moment he was wrapped completely around her and the next she was standing by herself, throwing a hand against the wall to brace her suddenly cold body.

He had moved several feet away and was watching her with an amused expression.

Sakura straightened up and glared at him. "Yes."

The smile he gave her was absolute gleeful. "Good. The harder the challenge, the richer the prize."

_Oh crap_, thought Sakura. _Sasuke even_ warned _me about that one_. Narrowing her eyes in frustration, she pointed a finger at him. "Don't. Touch. Anything."

Spinning on her heel, she moved into her bedroom, swearing under her breath as she pulled the ring out of her dresser. She hadn't put it back in her closet since she had been studying it. Sliding her eyes to the bookshelf that held her research mingled with her medic scrolls she had copied personally, she took a deep breath.

Imagining all the ways that she could break Itachi's bones cheered her up enough to move back into the living room. She stopped in her doorway and growled when she caught him leafing through the scrolls from sand.

"Are you hard of hearing?'

Long lashes lifted to show off the gleam in his eyes. "Since you have so politely refused my request, Sakura, I felt that you could indulge me."

She was going to kill him. Clenching her teeth, she tossed the ring at his head. His hand snapped up and caught it, a disapproving noise rolling from deep in his throat, but his eyes were dancing.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." She ground out before crossing her arms. "Is that everything?"

"Actually, I'm curious," Itachi said, standing. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. From what Sasuke had said, Itachi being curious was not _at all_ helpful for the sanity of those around him. He held up the ring between two fingers, head tilting in a very familiar way.

"Why are you so eager to give this back?"

Sakura snorted and leaned her thigh against her couch. "I was actually hoping that it would hit you in the head."

He chuckled, the sound warm and low in his throat. His fingers rolled the ring thoughtfully. "Perhaps. But I do not think that is all of the answer, Sakura."

"Too bad."

That smile was tugging at the corner of his lips again. "Ah… so you have started to research."

She lifted a brow. "That's an assumption."

He _tsked_ again. "If you're going to be doing research on the enemy, Sakura, you will need better traps."

She wanted to fling the couch at him. Instead, she smiled through her gritted teeth. "You know where the door is."

His eyes danced. "Yes. But Sakura, if I leave, then you won't be able to ask me all the questions I know you have dancing around in that brain of yours."

"All that's dancing in my brain is the equation for the necessary chakra control to fling a couch." She returned, refusing to flinch at the hot look that burned behind his eyes at her words.

"Little liar." He returned. He nudged the box of scrolls with his foot. "Sand's skills with chakra control that can be embedded into puppets. It's how Sasori was able to form such complex chakra strings to control his little pets. It's similar to the process necessary for embedding jutsu into jewelry. But," this time his smile was positively predatory. "You already knew that, correct?"

Sakura decided to try wide-eyed innocence. "Oh, is that what the scroll says? I hadn't gotten that far before _someone_ interrupted me."

Itachi actually laughed. She hadn't heard this laugh before, instead of warm and husky it was loud and jubilant. It echoed off her walls and damned if she wasn't attracted to it.

"Sakura, Sakura," he _tsked_, shaking his head, "I can understand you fighting me, but when it comes to something we both want? Why waste the time?"

The look he gave her was heated and Sakura felt herself flush. She felt the urge to stick her tongue out, but decided that fell under taunting and rolled her eyes instead.

"You keep making these _assumptions_, Uchiha-san, and it could get you into trouble."

"I like trouble," he assured her, settling himself into the love seat. "You can either tell me now or later, but odds are I will know where to start looking for the questions you have if I can't answer them." His smile was engaging and she pursed her lips at him.

"You are a very annoying man."

"So I have been told." He returned.

She finally sighed. Turning on her heel, she paused. "Don't touch anything this time, or I won't be sharing anything."

The smile he gave her was bright and she snorted before marching back into her room.

She was so very cute when riled. Crossing his arms, Itachi admired the way her hips moved as she disappeared around the corner and allowed his smile to sharpen. So very cute and so very easy to rile.

Such a foolish, _foolish_ little brother he had. Tilting his head back, he considered the angle of her roof. He lifted a brow as he considered what sort of layering he could work into the contours of her ceiling, and exactly what triggers he should use to activate the traps she so desperately needed in her home.

He needed to have a chat with his brother about letting his female teammate get by with just a few kunai and flimsy trip wires to guard her privacy. It was obvious that while she was extremely protective of the people around her, that she didn't take herself as seriously.

This would take some smooth work to keep her from suspecting him. His smile widened at the thought.

Sakura frowned at the almost wicked turn of his mouth and made a point to roll her eyes when he looked back up at her again. She needed tea. Glancing down at the mug on the table, she wrinkled her nose. It was probably cold now.

"Here."

Itachi accepted the scrolls and shot her an amused glance when she avoided letting her fingers brush hers. "And these are?"

She shot him a look as she headed for her kitchen. "You wanted to see what I had done so far. That's it. I'm making more tea."

Itachi watched her for a moment before giving into his curiosity and delving into the scrolls. There were three of them. The first was a complete diagram of the ring and a breakdown of the layers she had discovered. Her neat, feminine hand outlined the details and possible uses for each segment, as well as describing what metals she believed to have been used beside gold. There were several neat questions to the side about metals and stones. The second was a layout of the symbols that had been used in the ring. She had carefully copied each one individually, enlarging the symbols to be easily studied as well as placing them in several different combinations. _Jutsu_ combinations. The third was an outline of what information she had and what she needed to collect. He noted with appreciation that she had marked the individuals he would have chosen to work with first to discover answers.

Her research was neat, organized and detailed. Once he had finished scanning the material, he let himself consider exactly how the information reflected his kunoichi's mind. She was clearly clever and the way she had put the scrolls together suggested a natural inclination to strategy.

She was intelligent, which was something different than cleverness. She had tackled the ring with the fervor of someone who loved a good puzzle and had gone about it in a logical way that was easy to follow if she wanted to bring someone else in.

He traced a particularly tricky kanji with his finger and savored the knowledge that she was capable of keeping up with him, at least in this area. Seeing how well she had responded to his silent challenge made it difficult not to move into the kitchen and to express his heartfelt… _appreciation_.

"Tea?"

He turned, nodding his thanks as she handed him a plain mug. She settled into the couch, looking a little rough around the edges a she did so. It was clear that she was tired. He considered putting this conversation off, but there was a particular gleam in her eyes that told him she would be stubborn if he tried it. Best to time it so he left as she started to flag then.

"Thank you, Sakura."

She shrugged, her eyes turning back to the scroll. "So?"

"You did very well," he praised gently. "Your analysis of the kanji as well as the possible combinations was very well done."

There was a wary suspicion in her eyes that amused him. "But?"

His lips twitched. "There is no 'but,' Sakura. You did an excellent job. If you cannot accept a compliment, I will be happy to show my appreciation in other ways." He deliberately let his eyes linger on her lips and smirked when she flushed.

Sakura wanted to beat him with her table. His honest approval wasn't supposed to make her insides warm like that. Gritting her teeth, she took a calming breath. Murdering the heir to a clan was frowned at, after all.

"I'm missing something."

"Yes." Itachi agreed, leaning back and picking the ring back up. "I had an idea about that."

"Oh?"

"Hmmm." He agreed. His chakra flared a little and Sakura leaned forward. She was a little startled to see the sharingan in his eyes, and she blinked when he made the hand seals to move to the third level of his sharingan. She tilted her head and studied his chakra pattern. Unless he was cloaking his use, he had better control than his brother and used a significant amount of less chakra than Sasuke.

An eye shifted to her. "Yes?"

"You're better at that than Sasuke." The words slipped out before she could monitor them, and a smile touched the edges of his mouth.

"My little brother has a touch more of oto-san in him than I do." He turned back to the ring. "This stone has a symbol on it."

"What?"

"It's buried under some very complicated jutsu," Itachi said calmly. "I believe that is what you are missing?"

"Perhaps." Sakura muttered, frowning darkly. "What is it?"

"Gyokunyo."

Sakura sat back with a frown. "Virgin."

"Hmm…" Itachi agreed.

"I wonder what that symbolizes… besides the obvious."

"That is a question for tomorrow, I think."

Before she could respond, he was standing in front of her, scrolls in hand. "I would like to borrow these?"

"As long as you bring them back before you go on your next mission." Sakura said sternly.

He bent so that the ends of his hair brushed her cheek. Sakura stiffened when his hand settled at the base of her throat.

"One day, Sakura," his voice held a rumble to it that set off butterflies in her stomach. "You will not stiffen at my touch. You will welcome it." His eyes sharpened and burned. "That I promise you."

She bit the side of her tongue to keep from challenging him for the second time that night. His eyes gleamed at her.

"Sleep well." He murmured, fingers stroking along the indent of her throat.

She was suddenly alone.

X

When Uchiha Itachi was in-between missions, there were very few people with whom he chose to spend his time. Nara Shikamaru had been one of them since he was twelve. Shikamaru could never decide if he was glad about this fact.

Unlike Uchiha Itachi, it was never hard to find Shikamaru when he wasn't working. If he wasn't with his team, or working on his family's grounds, or buried under paperwork, or running from the scary females in his life… Shikamaru was watching the clouds or playing shogi in the park.

And that was where Itachi had found him, at twelve. Shikamaru still wasn't certain as to what exactly had sparked Itachi's interest, but he had learned that Itachi did not always have rational motives for his movements. Itachi'd challenged him to a game, Shikamaru, who'd been bored anyway, decided that refusing the ANBU would be more trouble than it was worth.

Shikamaru had heard tales of the Uchiha prodigy. He'd found that they were not exaggerated. They'd fought over the shogi board for hours, and it was just as much of a challenge for Shikamaru to retain his disinterested appearance as it was for him to anticipate the movements of the man across from him. The game had ended at sunset with Itachi carefully covering the board and asking Shikamaru to meet him there again when he returned from his mission next week.

Shikamaru had agreed. He'd figured it was better to meet and finish the game than it was to have the outcome of the game haunt him.

That particular game ended in a draw, but it still haunted him. If Shikamaru could have guessed that years later, he'd _still_ be playing shogi with Uchiha Itachi, he wasn't sure if he wouldn't have lost that game in the first twenty moves.

But the truth of the matter was, he admitted to himself with a wry quirk of his lips, he enjoyed the challenges Uchiha Itachi had brought into his life. Even if some of them were considerably more troublesome than shogi. He nudged a _fu_ forward.

Itachi's expression was relaxed as he considered the pieces and the possibilities behind Shikamaru's maneuver. They were past the preliminary moves and were moving into the meat of the game and it was safe to assume that the Nara was deep into plans.

"Your movements are slower than usual," Shikamaru murmured, eyes lifted as he studied the cloud formations above them.

"Perhaps," Itachi replied. He tapped a finger against the table. "I recently dealt with a nin who fancied himself a shogi master. I am curious to see if any of his moves are applicable."

"Too boring," Shikamaru returned.

Itachi slide his _gin_ forward before leaning back. Shikamaru looked down and blinked. Itachi kept his face straight as he watched his companion struggle to work through the logic of that particularly move, the edges of his mouth turning down silently.

"He had the most interesting theories on castles." Itachi continued, as if he hadn't just deliberately screwed with Shikamaru's mind.

"Every castle has a weakness or two," Shikamaru returned without looking up.

"He was most interested in _kei_ pieces."

Shikamaru, who was reaching for such a piece paused, eyes finally lifting. "Is that so?"

Itachi shrugged, choosing not to verbalize his response. Instead he let his eyes fall back to the board in front of him, analyzing what was before him and exactly how he could utilize his pieces.

Finally Shikamaru shrugged, moving another of his fu pieces. "The _kei_ are not as interesting as the _ryū_ in such cases."

Itachi leaned back. "Perhaps."

Shikamaru looked up. "Relying on _kei_ in such instances is illogical. Better to strike at an opponent's weakness with a stronger piece."

"Having a less likely piece into place allows an opponent to command two battlefields," Itachi returned. "Strike at an unsuspecting weakness while influencing a well known one."

"Basic tactics," Shikamaru returned before sighing. "How troublesome."

Itachi nudged his own _fu_ into place, capturing one of Shikamaru's pieces in the process. Setting it down on his side of the table, he let his fingers linger on the piece. "It's a shame they do not have a place to recover."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "That would change the whole nature of the game."

Itachi leaned back. "Indeed."

Itachi watched the thoughts collect and organize behind Shikamaru's eyes. He had always been curious as to the exact process behind the brilliant Nara's strategies. Since it was mostly looked down upon to peel apart the mind of an ally, he allowed himself these games instead. Now that they had added a layer to what dialogue they permitted themselves, he found he had another reason to relish these little battles of will.

"It certainly would."

* * *

AN: Once again, we'd like to thank everyone SO much for your gracious feedback. We're so glad that you are all enjoying this story-it makes writing it even more fun! Things are starting to get very interesting for our heroes, and we hope that you enjoy what we have planned for them. And, yes, before you kill us, we would like to assure you that the flashback will be continued in a later chapter.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated!


	8. It's Not a Date

**Disclaimer: If we owned Naruto, it would be a VERY different story...**

* * *

___14 Years Earlier  
_Uchiha Compound_  
_

_Itachi moved silently over to the corner that would best guard his back – and Sasuke – and waited. _

_"Whata we doin?"_

_"Hiding."_

_Sasuke tensed and when he spoke again it was in a faint whisper. _

_"Are the bad nin here?"_

_"Yes." Itachi whispered back. "But remember, I won't let them touch you."_

_His little head moved against his neck and Itachi was thankful when he chose to be silent, letting him hone every sense he had on pinpointing the location of the intruder. _

The skill it took to move through the Uchiha compound unseen made him wary. It wasn't just the traps and the occupants that had to be avoided, but the compound itself was a carefully designed maze of homes and blood jutsu that only someone with Uchiha blood could walk without with immunity.

Someone had taken a great deal of effort to move this far into the compound.

Carefully Itachi shifted his weight, leaning onto the balls of his feet so that Sasuke was balanced perfectly against him. From this position he could move in any angle he needed. The kitchen window was too obvious an escape and he didn't particularly care to rip through his parents seals and traps on the doors. That left the roof. Blowing a hole wasn't going to be much of an issue – if choosing between Sasuke and the roof, he chose Sasuke – and it was only an application of chakra against wood and tar…

Soft, broken footfalls reached his ears as a shadowy figure stepped through the doorway from the hallway coming from the bedrooms. Itachi narrowed his eyes.

Golden eyes locked on to his and unsettling laughter reached him before the intruder stepped further into the light. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

The patronizing tone made Itachi grit his teeth. Excellent question. What _did_ they have here? How much more would this enemy shinobi reveal before attacking? What did he want? And how could he use the man's obvious underestimation of him to his advantage? Itachi wasn't used to being underestimated, but he fully intended to make the most of it. He could feel Sasuke trembling as he pressed against his back.

This bastard was going to pay for frightening his younger brother. He'd have to work twice as hard to get Sasuke comfortable in the dark now.

"I came here for one Uchiha and I found two, all dressed up and ready to go like little lambs." The shinobi stepped further into the kitchen, deliberately walking into the beam of light from the window. Probably so Itachi could be impressed with his appearance. He wasn't.

His body was of the average build for an elite shinobi, and he moved with the same trained grace as hundreds of other jounin. Itachi's sharingan was advanced to the stage where he was able to determine the approximate amount of chakra his opponent possessed, and he had to admit that it was considerable. The nin's preening, however, the way he automatically expected Itachi to cower at his presence, _sneaking into the Uchiha compound to steal one of their own_ all announced a certain… lack of intelligence that Itachi was going to take a great deal of pleasure in exploiting.

"Nothing to say, little lamb?" Those golden eyes narrowed and Itachi instinctively knew that if he wanted the shinobi to keep talking, he would have to play his game. For now.

"What do you expect me to say?" Itachi asked. "Aren't lambs supposed to be quiet before the slaughter?"

That laughter was really irritating. Itachi thought he would cut out the man's tongue before he killed him, so he could choke on his own laugh.

"So much is to be expected from the great Uchiha Clan genius, Uchiha Itachi."

So the nin had heard of him. And still thought he could just walk in and do whatever it was he wanted. That was just… insulting. Itachi's eyes narrowed. "You've heard of me, I see. Funny. I've not heard of you."

It was a mild blow, as insults go. And just like Itachi thought, the man's tremendous ego received it like it was much more direct. Those golden eyes narrowed and a faint hissing sound came from his throat as the missing-nin released his hold on his killing intent.

That was… significant. Itachi felt his heart begin to pound, the corner of his mouth twitching up into the beginnings of an insane smile. It would be fun to push this man, to see just what it would take to turn that killing intent into a weapon that would reverse and wound the owner.

Sasuke buried his whimper by shifting his head into the back of Itachi's neck. And Itachi was reminded of his priorities.

"Perhaps you have yet to match the face to the name, boy. I am Orochimaru."

Itachi's eyebrow twitched, half expecting a flash of lightening to follow such a dramatic announcement. Orochimaru. Yes, Itachi _had_ heard of him. "Traitor," Itachi made his voice almost cheerful. "It's death for you to step foot back inside Konoha."

Subtly, Itachi shifted his weight, cueing Sasuke to tighten his hold around his waist. He was relieved when Sasuke was alert enough to comply. They were going to have to move. Soon.

That laugh again. This time there was something even more insane to it. "And yet, here I stand. The walls of Konoha cannot keep me out, boy. There is nothing you can do to stop me from getting what I want."

"And what is it you want?" Itachi asked quietly.

"Immortality!" Yes, that was definitely insanity lighting Orochimaru's eyes. "I will live forever and learn every jutsu known to man. I will become the most powerful, the most knowledgeable, the _best_, and I will live that way forever." Orochimaru took a single step towards them, waves of his killing intent increasing. "And your little brother Sasuke is going to help me."

Itachi barely restrained himself from activating his genjutsu and entrapping Orochimaru in it then and there. That bastard was not getting a step nearer to his younger brother. He forced himself to engage in a different way and draw out more information. "Immortality is a child's dream. But it does not stand to reason that you would need a child to help you accomplish it."

"Not just _any_ child, no. But Sasuke… Sasuke is the cumulation of all the Uchiha potential. _You_ may be the genius, Uchiha Itachi, but your brother has it within him to surpass you. And under my guidance, he will. And then, when his body has reached its peak," Orochimaru paused to lick his lips with a disgusting length of tongue, "I will take it for my own. With the sharingan, I will learn every jutsu, and I will be forever the strongest."

The illogic of becoming the strongest when you were not even using your own body was lost in the overpowering flood of pure anger. Orochimaru wanted to take Sasuke away. Forever. He wanted to twist Sasuke and use him and break him. And somewhere from deep inside Itachi, something in him quivered at the thought – not Sasuke. Never Sasuke. He would not allow it. His brother was crying silently, and Itachi could feel the hot tears drizzle against his neck. This interview had gone on long enough.

"You are insane. And you will never _touch_ Sasuke."

"And who is going to stop me, _boy_, you? You're not even a genin. Your family will get here just in time to witness the cooling of your corpse. I'm one of the legendary sannin. You can't stand against me."

A wild grin spread across Itachi's face. "Sasuke is _my_ younger brother. And I will never allow you to touch him. Mark the next time we meet, Orochimaru. You will die choking on your own blood and the world will be forever rid of your stupidity."

Itachi had no doubt that Orochimaru was fast, but he had allowed himself to fall back onto his heels, his muscles tensed with anger and arrogance. Snapping his fingers through the last of the jutsu, he let loose the hold on the genjutsu he had laid on the floor. He had no doubt that it would only take seconds for the Sannin to break through it, but it didn't matter.

Seconds was all he needed.

The roof exploded outwards in a shower of tile, sound and fire. It wasn't so much a jutsu as it was the application of his chakra and angle of pressure he had excluded. The fire _was_ a jutsu, one that had taken half a dozen hand signals. Landing on the roof he checked his hold on Sasuke and leapt onto his neighbor's roof. The sounds of Orochimaru's howl of displeasure met with the shouts of his clan.

A satisfied smile curled his lips wildly before he was racing across the compound and into Konoha. He was certain it wouldn't take long before his parents were aware of the explosion and his mother would worry. He had no doubt that the Sannin would think twice before following him into the heart of the village. Already the vibrations of the alarm were ripping through the air and the lights in the village were flickering on rapidly. No, Orochimaru had lost his prey. Wind whistled though his ears as he raced through the village.

The window to the Hokage's office was open and he could feel the chakra signatures of his parents. His ka-chan's form filled the glass a heartbeat before he landed on the ledge. Her eyes were dark as she took in his expression and reached for Sasuke.

"Itachi?" she asked quietly once her arms were full of his crying brother. Sasuke had buried his face in her neck and was wrapped as tightly around her as he could manage with his short limbs. His oto-san was standing behind her, his expression tight.

"Orochimaru was in the compound." Itachi said calmly. "He wanted Sasuke."

Sarutobi was there a moment later, his expression grave. "Come in and shut the window."

Itachi slipped off the windowsill and did as he was asked. As he turned to shut the window he let a faint smile curve his lips as he saw the fire had been put out. Tonight was not the only time he would face Orochimaru. He would make it so.

Next time, it would end in the Sannin's death.

X

___Present Day  
_Konoha Hospital_  
_

Sakura rolled her shoulders as she finished organizing the clipboards with the patient information she had spent the last seven hours doing rounds on. Running her fingers through her rather messy bangs, she glanced at her watch and sighed when she realized she had only another five minutes on shift. The midnight to seven wasn't her favorite time to work in the hospital but the staff had been short handed tonight.

Unfortunately, she had the sneaking suspicion that whatever Tsunade wanted to talk about in half an hour would keep her from picking up the same shift tomorrow. That meant staying up until at least dark before being able to sleep. Ah well, another reason to be happy for her training. Speaking of duties…

Her gut instinct promised whatever it was that Tsunade wanted, it was going to have to do with Uchiha-san. Frowning darkly, she shut the drawer she had been putting files into rather forcefully. It had been two days since she had seen the Uchiha and she was still mad at him. This just made her even more irritable. He shouldn't have the ability to get under her skin for _two days_, even if he _had_ violated her personal space. He had seemed generally impressed with her cataloguing of the ring and the scrolls had been returned to her the next morning via Sasuke who had worn an expression clearly read, 'I don't want to know, don't tell me', on his face.

Rubbing her eyes, Sakura went to gather her things. If he had reported the ring to Tsunade, then odds were she was going to find herself dealing with the subject again at some point. It was almost giving It-Uchiha-san a free pass to harass her, but she doubted he needed such clear-cut reasons to invade her personal space. Her teeth clenched at the memory of his little 'promise'.

What was his fascination with her neck? Shaking her head to dispel the memory of his fingers against her throat, she marched her way into Tsunade's office. She was tired of thinking about him. Best to get whatever it was her sensei had cooked up over and done with as soon as possible. She might even survive the experience without any sort of an Uchiha encounter. Perking a little at the thought, she headed up the stairs.

She nodded at the guards outside Tsunade's door and gave it a sharp rap with her fist.

"Come," Tsunade called, and Sakura opened the door, stepped in, and shut it behind her.

"Ah, Sakura," Tsunade looked up from behind a pile of paperwork, an evaluating light in her eyes. "Well, haven't you been a busy little kunoichi. I've just received the most glowing report from Uchiha Itachi. And to think, this was the first I've heard of it."

Sakura refused to give Tsunade the response that she was looking for. "What, that Uchiha-san can give complements? It was a surprise to me too."

Tsunade smiled, "I'm sure it was. None of your sass, girl. You want to explain to me why you didn't include this ring I'm suddenly hearing so much about in your initial report?"

Well, she'd seen that coming. There was no way to get out of this without looking either stupid or disloyal and Sakura wasn't sure which was worse. "Truth be told, Shishou… I just didn't think about it. The way Uchiha-san gave it to me made it seem… irrelevant to our mission. And when I decided to research it, I did it with the mind of discovering as much as I could before he returned. I was still in the process of determining its importance when he came back."

Tsunade studied her for a moment before nodding. "We'll, since you are now part of a select group of individuals who Itachi will allow in his personal space, I have an assignment for you. It's going to keep you out of the hospital for an extended period of time I'm afraid, but you should find the challenge worth it."

Sakura had to work to keep from grimacing. She really did not want to be connected to the Uchiha in anyway form in her sensei's mind. "Oh?"

Tsunade tapped a finger on a pile of documents on her desk. "I want to know more about this ring."

Sakura blinked several times. "I don't know much about jewelry, sensei."

"But you do know about chakra control. Itachi has informed me that it would have taken some very precise work to create this piece of jewelry. Since your previous work was so satisfactory, and I need a distraction to keep Itachi from running off to kill Orochimaru, you both will be working on this. Together."

Sakura couldn't hold back her expression of dismay and Tsunade lifted a brow. "Would you like to say something?"

Sakura wiped her expression clean and swallowed. What she _would_ like to say and what she _could_ say always warred in moments like these. A mission, with Itachi? One that required close contact and long hours of research?

"No, sensei."

"Good." Tsunade said. "Then you can start now. Itachi will be joining you later this morning." She leveled Sakura with a stern glance. "I don't need to explain how important it is that you solve this. If we can trace the materials and jutsu to a particular village, we might be able to track the origins of the Akatsuki. Knowing their strengths will give us an idea of their weaknesses and if we are to defeat them, we must have this information."

Tsunade was making this about protecting Naruto. Sometimes it exasperated Sakura that her sensei could read her so well, but instead of commenting she nodded and bowed, accepting the mission scroll.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade snorted. "Make sure you eat something this morning, Sakura. I except to have a preliminary report on my desk in the morning."

Sakura nodded before moving out the door.

Gamabunta If she was lucky, and her luck seemed to have all but disappeared lately, this would be what the Uchiha needed to decide she wasn't worth his attention.

Maybe.

She _really_ needed to talk to Sasuke.

X

She was partly slumped against the desk, a half eaten bento at her elbow and a faint wrinkle of displeasure between her eyebrows as she read something she was dissatisfied with when he found her. She was playing with the ends of her braid and his eyes were drawn to her long fingers.

"Uchiha-san, if you're just going to stand there you might as well come back later."

"So friendly, Sa-ku-ra," he moved away from the shadows. "Do you treat all your new team members this way?"

She sent him a brittle smile, "No, Uchiha-san. You're special."

He laughed and moved towards her. "Oh, Sakura. I knew you'd see the light one day, but I had not anticipated your precipitation."

"And I had not anticipated your obliviousness. I'll try to be clearer in my definitions in the future."

Itachi blinked. He wondered, vaguely, if anyone had ever been so bold to insult him as blatantly as the kunoichi in front of him. It was… a rather novel experience. He couldn't say he enjoyed it.

"Now, this is hardly getting the mission off on the right foot," he murmured, reaching over to tuck a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.

She slammed the scroll in her hand down on the table and shifted so that she could glare up at him directly. "Uchiha-san, I believe I have been more than tolerant of your consistent invasions of my personal space. But as we are going to work together, I must ask you to remain professional. Keep your hands off me."

Itachi's eyes narrowed at her challenge. She was, of course, perfectly within her rights to demand such a thing, as his behavior had certainly not been the disinterested interaction of a colleague. 'Disinterested' was the last thing he felt towards Haruno Sakura.

"And I believe," he bent, placing one hand on the back of her chair and the other on her desk, framing her in. He leaned in so that his mouth was parallel to her ear, "that I have asked you to call me Itachi."

He moved slowly, his cheek close enough to hers that he could feel her heat, but refusing to touch her. Finally, he came face to face with her, the exact amount of distance between them that was necessary so he could see her face. "Is such a small request so very difficult for you, Sakura?"

Those eyes of hers narrowed, "If it is such a small request, then it shouldn't matter, should it, _Uchiha-san_."

Sakura clenched her fists, letting her short nails dig into her palms to keep from picking up a scroll and attempting to beat Itachi to death with it. Sucking in a deep breath, she worked to get a handle on her temper. Refocusing her gaze on him, she was startled to see that he had covered what little space there had been between them. Before she could react, he slid his hands along her jaw and tilted her chin up, his long fingers brushing the sensitive skin behind her ears a heartbeat before he settled his mouth on hers.

Sakura froze. The kiss was so soft she could barely feel the pressure of his lips. The heat of his hands held her in place as his mouth whispered against hers, her lips tingling with the almost-pressure before he pulled back and watched her from eyes that smoldered.

She stared at him in shock. Itachi had_ kissed her_. The thought wrapped around her brain for several seconds before she could make sense of it, and then she got angry. Planting a foot on the floor, she shoved her chair as far away from him as she could manage without sending herself through the wall.

Itachi's mouth curled into a satisfied smile as he watched her chest heave with the force of her temper. Locking his gaze on hers, he deliberately ran his tongue over his lips, savoring the way her breath caught in her throat. Tilting his head, his eyes slowly scanned her figure. Returning his gaze to hers, he lifted a brow.

Sitting up as straight as her spine would allow, she obviously struggled with her temper before giving in and snarling at him.

_"Personal. Space. Uchiha-san!"_

This time, his smile was positively predatory.

"Call me Itachi. _Sakura_."

She got out of her chair and marched over to poke him in the chest, "Asking you to refrain from _touching_ me is hardly on the same level as your request that I call you by your first name, _U-chi-ha-san_. One is a breach of protocol, and the other is asking you to respect _common courtesy_."

Sakura lifted her hand from his chest and clenched it into a fist between them, waving it slightly in front of his face. "And if you ever kiss me without my permission again, I swear I will knock you into next week."

One of his hands came up to catch her wrist as a slightly feral look lit behind his eyes, "I look forward to seeing you try it." His thumb traced along her pulse point, "I am growing to love your hands, Sakura."

She narrowed her eyes and told herself that having his full attention on her was _not_ doing funny things to her insides.

His smile was positively predatory, and he brought his other hand up and eased it along the palm of her clenched fist, losing her fingers so that they aligned with his. "They're so delicate. Long-fingered and slender. But with them you have the power to crush mountains, to decimate your enemies. And these same hands hold the ability to remove poison, to bring life back when your allies have lost hope. They hold the lives of your friends and the lives of your enemies. All this found in such a delicate package."

He shifted his hand so that he could lace his fingers through hers.

Sakura had the terrifying, sinking sensation that this was no longer just a game to him. That somehow, despite her best intentions, she had underestimated him. Sliding her tongue between her teeth, she bit down hard to clear her head. She refused to think of how his fingers felt tangled with hers and the way he was watching her, all dark eyed and mesmerizing.

"Uchiha-san," she was proud at how even her voice was. "If you do not let go of me right this instance, then I will be explaining to Tsunade-sensei exactly why you are doing this mission alone, consequences be damned."

His eyes held hers for another second; thumb deliberately moving across her knuckles before he let go. His smile was faintly mocking now, as he took a single step backwards, giving her a little bit of breathing room.

"Ah, Sakura," his voice had a warm rumble to it that had her biting down even harder on her tongue. "I do admire your spine."

Sakura crossed her arms. "What do you know about the Akatsuki, Uchiha-san?"

"Hmm," he said as he pulled his chair up to the desk, his smile inviting her to relax. "I have been dealing with… let's call them 'components' of the organization, for some time now." His eyes danced. "It's all classified I'm afraid."

She stubbornly fell into her medic persona, refusing to be intimidated by the Uchiha. "Tsunade let me see a few of your reports on their activities. Your idea that they are using the rings as a source of communication is plausible."

"I'm delighted you approve."

She searched his words for a hidden taunt and decided to ignore it if there was one. The man was positively dangerous when it came to mind games. Best to deal with the ones she could and work out the rest later.

"Yet, you still haven't managed to report a workable theory on what they are doing with the Jinchiruuki." Besides, she was fairly decent at her own taunting.

His eyes burned for a moment, either with challenge or temper, and he laced his long fingered hands together, sliding a look out of the corner of his eyes that had the hairs rising off the back of her neck.

"Be careful, Sakura." He chided, tone curiously mellow. "I'm a man with only so much patience."

Point for her.

Widening her eyes in false innocence, she tilted her head. "Besides tracking the Akatsuki and stealing their rings, what can you tell me, Uchiha-san?"

"Why don't you have a seat, Sakura, and we can talk about it like you're not afraid to be near me?"

Sakura crossed her arms, "Painfully obvious, Uchiha-san."

He arched an eyebrow, "Perhaps. That doesn't make it less true."

Obvious, yes, stupid, yes, but Sakura couldn't help respond to his challenge. She walked over and pulled out the chair opposite It—_Uchiha-san_. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction even in her own mind.

"So what is it," she repeated the question, "that you _can_ tell me about the Akatsuki?"

Leaning back against his chair, he studied her face for a moment before speaking. "The Akatsuki are basically a criminal organization created for purposes we are still attempting to gather. They have in their possession the one-tailed Shakaku and we can assume, are working to collect others."

Sakura nodded in agreement. She knew this.

"What we have suspected for some time now is that Orochimaru originally had connections to the Akatsuki organization and then broke away." He taped a finger on the desk. "He still maintains possession of the ring he was given, which suggests that there is some significance to the rings besides communication."

Sakura frowned, mulling over that piece of information. "Do we have any idea of how they extracted Shakaku from Gaara? I haven't had a chance to read Kakashi's report on what was found in the cave or his conversation with Gaara."

A flicker of something flared through his eyes and then disappeared. "Kazekage-sama has no memory of the steps that stole his bijuu, and it is unlikely that they would place such an important step into rings. However, they have not yet replaced Orochimaru."

Sakura's eyes sharpened. "Because they _don't_ have his ring?"

"That is our assumption, yes." Itachi expression was almost gleeful. "They will want Sasori's back."

Sakura crossed her arms. "But why create the rings at all?"

"That Sakura is what Tsunade wants us to discover."

She snorted, reaching for a scroll. "I was able to trace a few of the kanji I didn't recognize. They are similar to some we had come out of lighting country several years ago."

Itachi's eyes sharpened as he mulled over her words. "Lightening country… do you have that diagram?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Clouds association with Sound might go back longer than we anticipated." He said mildly, eyes scanning a scroll. "We don't know how long Orochimaru was with the Akatsuki before he left. If the ring was created by someone from Cloud or materials were purchased there, it would be a start."

"Cloud and Konoha have been silently warring for years," Sakura pointed out. "Even if Orochimaru was claiming to be a missing-nin from our village, they would have been wary of him."

"You're assuming Orochimaru made the original contact, Sakura. It's possible someone else in the organization has roots there and it's likely that Orochimaru was brought in after the rings were made, not before."

"What evidence do you have to support that?"

"Bodies." Itachi said calmly. "We can trace Orochimaru's movements by the number of bodies he has left behind over the years."

"Oh."

"Jiraiya has done an excellent job tracking his old teammates body swaps." Itachi continued. "Taking that data, we can assume that it was a recent period of time that Orochimaru joined and left Akatsuki; near the time that he started to hunt Sasuke."

Sakura chewed on her lip before shaking her head. "I think the connection with Cloud is possible, but I don't think that whoever put that ring together would have depended so heavily on one village. Too easy for information to leak. If I was putting together something this complicated, I would have gathered pieces from different locations and melded them once I was sure none of the parts could be traced back together."

Approval from Uchiha Itachi could become very heady if she let it. There was a way he tilted his head, eyes warm with a mixture of approval and laughter, as if he was surprised and pleased all at once.

Her tongue was going to start bleeding if she kept up its rough treatment.

"True," he agreed. "However, I suggested it would be a beginning point, Sakura, not the answer to our questions."

And there went that warm fuzzy feeling. Relief was heady too. "I'll keep that in mind." Reaching under the table, she dropped a box in front of him. "Here, you can start with these."

He lifted a brow. "Start?"

"Let's see how fast you can read and still remember things, Uchiha-san." Sakura challenged lightly. "I plan to finish at least two boxes before my eyes fall out of my head."

"You shouldn't bait me, Sakura."

"Oh?"

"Hmmm," he replied, leaning forward so that his long hair brushed her arm. "I don't lose."

Tilting her chin up, she quirked an eyebrow. "Yet."

He laughed, full throated and open. "Oh, you'll see, Sakura. You'll see."

X

Sakura was not sure how she'd ended up here. All she knew was that her partner could be very _persuasive_ when he'd set his mind to something, and Uchiha Itachi had decided it was time for them to get something to eat.

All she knew was that one minute she'd been bent over a scroll, trying to figure out the particulars of a kind of chakra _collection_ module, and the next she was blinking in the twilight, being herded to a comfortable, quiet restaurant with ambient lighting and free bread sticks.

She picked one up, it was still warm, and began gnawing on the edge of it while she contemplated her companion. Ever since their last…'conversation' about it, Uchiha Itachi had been playing her personal space like a virtuoso. He'd made it so that no matter where he was or wasn't she was always _aware_ of him. One moment he'd be skimming his fingers along the back of her neck, the other he'd have his brow furrowed in thought on the other side of the room, as if she wasn't even there.

You would think he made stalking reluctant girls a hobby.

She had moved on to her second bread stick and he was smirking at her like he could see inside her head. "All right," she admitted, hoping to distract him if he was in fact, psychic, "I admit it. I was hungry."

He somehow managed to look even _more_ self-satisfied. She wasn't sure how he did it.

"_Mmm_," he said, timing his own grasp into the bread basket to align with hers so he could 'accidentally' tangle his fingers with hers in search of some more bread.

Sakura refused to give him the satisfaction of snatching her hand back.

"You don't have to be a medic to know that sort of thing happens when you skip lunch," Itachi continued, the light of faint challenge in his eyes.

She pointed her bread stick at him, "I had a bento."

His eyes dropped from hers to the bread stick. "You had a bento for breakfast, Sakura." He lifted his eyes back to hers and leaned across the table and took the tip of her bread stick in his mouth, biting it slowly before leaning back up. He chewed and swallowed before speaking in a low tone of voice, "You don't think I'd notice?"

Sakura swallowed before letting the bread stick drop from limp fingers onto the table.

"There'd better be another bread stick," she muttered, dropping her eyes and reaching over to the basket.

His eyes heated and he reached over to gently catch her hand in his. Sakura did _not_ gasp at the contact, but she very much wanted to. She glared at him instead. He ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"First you repeatedly ignore my very polite request, now you won't even answer my questions? I would not have thought you capable of such rudeness, Haruno Sakura."

Her eyes narrowed, "I am _capable_ of a lot more than rudeness, _Uchiha-san_." She tugged at her hand, but to no effect. His grip remained light but her hand wasn't going anywhere unless she used chakra. And she was seriously considering it.

Itachi tugged her hand forward, eyes intent upon hers, "I am consistently impressed with your capacity, Sakura. One day I hope you will demonstrate it to me in full." He pressed a burning kiss to her knuckles.

She was saved from her impulse of cracking a plate over his head by the appearance of their waiter. Itachi let her hand go slowly, so that each nerve was sensitized as her hand slid out of his calloused grasp.

"What can I get you two today?"

Sakura crossed her arms, removing her hands from his reach and safeguarding herself from the temptation of hitting him. She was sure he was going to pull a Sasuke and order for the table. In fact, just about every shinobi she'd ever been out with, with the exception of Naruto, who didn't care, and Kakashi, who also didn't care, and Shikamaru, who was too lazy or who knew better, she hadn't decided, always tried to order for the girl.

She was taken aback when Itachi finished his order and directed his gaze back to her, an inquiring tilt to his brows.

"And for yourself, miss?"

Sakura gave the waiter a smile. "I'll take the special."

"Grilled or blackened?"

"Grilled, please." She murmured. She was pretty sure she had ordered some sort of fish. The quick glance she had taken of the menu had been a curious mix of traditional and foreign foods.

The waiter nodded before disappearing, leaving her alone with Itachi again. Still, the small buffer had given her the time she needed to collect and stuff her temper back into a safer corner of her mind, to be taken out and used later. Preferably in a fight. Itachi eyes were gleaming with an expression Sakura was quickly starting to equate with being unhealthy for her mental well being, and she braced herself for another round of invading her personal space.

"Why a medic-nin?"

Sakura blinked at him. "What?"

Itachi smiled, his expression as close to being open as Sakura could remember. "Why did you choose to become a medic-nin? It's not the most common path for a kunoichi, even those with perfect chakra control."

She frowned at him, looking for some hidden motive. Besides seeming amused by her suspicion, he just watched her. Mentally trying to decide how much trouble she could get herself into talking about half of her profession, she reluctantly answered his question.

"I sort of fell into it, Uchiha-san."

"How so?"

Sakura lifted a brow. "Sasuke is your brother, right?"

Itachi lifted a brow. "Yes, he is. How does that play with your decision to be a medic-nin?"

Sakura relaxed a little. Sasuke and Naruto were safe subjects, and the most she would have to explain was her attachment to her team. Attachment that was common among all genin.

"When we were younger Sasuke and Naruto had the tendency to try to kill themselves. As creatively as possible. Kakashi gave me some scrolls to study about basic first-aid, because someone had to patch them back together. I found I was pretty good at it." She fiddled with a breadstick for a moment before continuing. "After the chunin exams, I decided it would be a good idea to get more training in that area."

"I wasn't aware that they allowed genin into the sort of advanced studies you had to have taken on without special permission." Itachi mused.

"They don't." Sakura responded wryly. "I enrolled in some basic courses to fill my time, and then started volunteering at the hospital. Team 7 had basically dissolved at this point. I managed to find some shinobi who'd let me train with them at night, but I needed something to do during the day. There weren't a lot of genin missions for a single kunoichi, so I spent the time at the hospital. After I met Tsunade-sensei, things just sort of fell into place."

Itachi studied her face, carefully making notes about all the things she wasn't talking about. It was obvious that the fact that her two teammates had left her had stung. That being in the hospital had given her a chance to find her feet. It appeared that for all her bluster, Sakura was very delicate in some areas. There were shadows in her voice and in her eyes, and he was vaguely surprised to find he didn't care for them.

So, Kakashi had left to train with his little brother and allowed Naruto to train with Jiraiya without making any provision for the kunoichi on his team. He'd always suspected the copy-nin to be a touch oblivious. Now he had proof.

"I see. Tsunade approached you, then?"

Sakura flushed, "Not exactly." She could still remember what had cost her, to walk into the Hokage's office and ask to become her apprentice. She hadn't been able to eat at all that day, and she had been shaking for hours even after Tsunade had said yes. "I asked her to train me. I'm still not sure why she just didn't kick me out of her office. But she gave me three weeks to learn what was, to me, an incredibly complicated jutsu. If I could learn the jutsu, memorize a list of common poisons and antidotes, and improve my sprint time by at least 2 seconds while keeping up with my regular duties, she said she'd consider it."

She shrugged, "According to her, she's still considering it."

"So you knew what you wanted and went after it. Tsunade recognized a valuable asset in you when she agreed to consider training you." His eyes lit with inner heat for a moment and they left her face to briefly take all of her in. "Do you enjoy your chosen path?"

Sakura fought down the warm flush that came with his blatant approval. Instead, she gave serious consideration to his question. Nothing about being a medic-nin was easy. Letting go of the first time someone had died on her table had almost killed her. You had to accept that there would be times that you would fail, and that there was nothing you could do about it, and that stung Sakura to the quick. Naruto had taught her that failure was not an option; being a medic had taught her it was inevitability. She wasn't kami.

But she still took satisfaction each time she pulled someone back from the brink, each time someone didn't have to hurt when she was there. She'd come to accept that no matter how strong she'd become, Naruto and Sasuke would always been one step ahead of her. It was a bitter taste in the back of her throat, but she consoled herself with the fact that even if she couldn't keep up with them, she could watch their backs by making them better. Her boys would not die on her watch. She had learned enough of Naruto's lesson to make damn sure of that.

The hours were long, and unlike most shinobi she was never really off duty. If she wasn't on the field, she was at the hospital. If she wasn't at the hospital, she was trying to improve. Lives of precious people were held in the balance of her knowledge and skill, and Sakura was determined that in this area, she would never be lacking. Death would have to pry her patients from her with an exploding crowbar, because she would not just let them go.

Her lips twitched upward. All shinobi danced with Death. She was the only one who got to beat it back. And every time she did, Sakura was filled with such a sense of purpose and accomplishment; it made it all worth it.

"I couldn't have chosen anything better."

There was a light in his eyes that told her she had let some of her emotion reveal itself on her face, but even though Sakura was wary about what Itachi would do with the information of just how much her profession meant to her, at the same time she couldn't care less. It was true. She wasn't ashamed of it.

Their waiter arrived with their food. She was relieved for the distraction and smiled as her meal was set in front of her. Steam was coming off the fish and the rice dish that made up her meal and she was suddenly reminded of how hungry she was. Carefully digging into her food, she waited until she had taken the edge of her hunger off before facing Itachi again.

Sakura looked up at him over her grilled fish with a bright smile. "So, Uchiha-san. What about you? Sasuke mentioned just how early you'd joined ANBU, and if rumors are to be believed you could have graduated from the Academy at six. Seems like you've certainly taken the way of the shinobi very seriously."

"My mother insisted I be allowed graduate at a normal pace. She wanted me to have as much of a normal childhood as possible," Itachi flashed a sharp grin. "She took on all the clan elders for me, and had to deal with my attitude when I was forced to remain behind. But she explained that it was more of a… opportunity than a handicap, and I've been grateful to her ever since."

Sakura took a bite of her fish and digested the information. He was certainly being more…open than she would have expected. "An opportunity? How do you mean?"

Itachi's eyes suddenly flooded red. "The Uchiha have a natural advantage over most other shinobi. It is a strength that can easily be turned into a weakness. There is a natural tendency to focus on what seems to be the quickest path to the most power." He let his sharingan fade out. "Ka-san taught me to observe my fellow shinobi, to see how they are strong, and to learn to incorporate that strength into myself. In this way, I have learned to perfect all aspects of combat so I am not dependent on a bloodline limit."

He sent her another one of his sharp grins, "Although the sharingan certainly does have its more… interesting properties."

It took Sakura a moment to process what he told her. "So… your mother convinced you to remain in the Academy so you could spy out the strengths and weaknesses the other clans while they were learning. This way you'd be able to see them at their weakest and what it takes for them to become strong." She shook her head. His mother had managed to protect him from being exposed to the horrors of shinobi life at an early age, all the while equipping her son against the most powerful clans of Konoha. Uchiha Mikoto sounded… scary. "I'm beginning to see where you get your sneaky streak from, Uchiha-san."

"I am pleased that you grasped the concept so easily, Sa-ku-ra," he caressed her name with his voice. "I would certainly say that is an advantage."

Sakura gulped. Why couldn't she have just kept her big mouth shut? The way he was looking at her…it was like he was_ hungry_.

Distract, evade. She was a medic-nin, dodging was her job. She could do this. "You must love your mother very much."

Itachi's lips twitched upwards at the corners and his eyes caught and held her gaze. "She has set a certain standard when it comes to my dealings with women. It has been very hard to find anyone who could possibly measure up. You are very perceptive, Sakura."

A voice inside Sakura's head she hadn't heard in a very long time was screaming. 'DID HE JUST COMPARE US TO HIS MOTHER?'

A heavy feeling settled over Sakura. It was the weight of his appreciation, the intensity of his stare, and the utter certainty that she was doomed.

* * *

And the longest flashback ever is finished! We hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as we enjoyed writing it. Once again, we cannot thank you enough for the wonderful, positive feedback we have been getting for this little AU. We hope you continue to meet your expectations and that you enjoy our little retelling of cannon.

_Your feedback is greatly appreciated!_


	9. Before the Storm

Disclaimer: We do not claim to do anything but LOVE Naruto.

Thank you all so much for your positive feedback! We're so glad that you're enjoying the story. We are having a lot of fun building this timeline, and we're really glad that you all are enjoying it to. On that note...please don't kill us?

* * *

_5 Years Ago_  
Uchiha Compound

Itachi looked up from the scroll he was reading. Sasuke was trudging across the house with a sour expression on his face. Ah. If he was correct, today was the day he was supposed to have been introduced to his genin team. Sasuke was apparently unsatisfied with who he was stuck with. Remembering his own reaction to discovering his team he rolled the scroll closed. Feeling amused, he waited until Sasuke was closer before speaking.

"Who were you given?"

Sasuke stared at him for long moments before flopping on the couch. "Hatake Kakashi is my sensei."

Itachi considered that. The only sharingan wielder outside of the clan was a good choice. Any of the jounin from the clan would have been held back by clan politics when it came to pushing Sasuke. Kakashi was good shinobi although he had never passed a genin team.

"You passed his bell test?"

Sasuke shot up. "You _knew_ about that?"

"It is well known, Sasuke. You will do well with him."

Sasuke glared at his brother. "He reads _Icha Icha_."

Itachi pushed his laughter down. "Yes."

"While giving us the bell test! He never took his nose out of that book!"

"He has mastered his sharingan, Sasuke. To do so without any of the clan's secrets or the proper chakra pathways is impressive. You will do well to learn everything you can from him."

He grunted and fell back down. "Not if my teammates get themselves _killed_. Then I'll never make jounin!"

"Oh?"

"They gave me Naruto! Naruto! He is the _worst_ student in the academy! _Dead last_! They didn't even pass him until a few days ago and he won't say _why_!"

Itachi felt his lips twitch.

"And Sakura! She has pink hair! Pink! Who has _pink hair_? And she smiles at me! All the time! And she blushes! She just so… so… girly!" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I don't think she even knows how to throw a kunai!"

Itachi struggled with his laughter. "They did pass the academy, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at him. "_Aniki_…"

All the years he was forced to endure Hana and Itsuki's strange sense of humor was suddenly so much better. Standing, Itachi patted Sasuke on the head. "Well, you'll just have to teach them Sasuke. You can't pass the chunin exams without them."

His smile was full blown at the sounds of Sasuke's howl of frustration.

X

___Present Day  
_Sakura's Apartment_  
_

Standing on her doorstep, fishing for her keys with Uchiha Itachi leaning against the wall next to her apartment door was surreal. Ignoring the way his eyes almost felt like fingers against the back of her neck, she finally pulled out her keys. Sliding them into the lock, she squared her shoulders as she gave in to the inevitable. Her mother's lessons on manners were never fully buried and Itachi _had_ bought her dinner. Much to her protest, but he had paid for it.

"Thank you for dinner, Uchiha-san, and _goodnight_."

He straightened, sliding forward so that the last few feet between them disappeared. Stiffening – if he kissed her _again_ she _would break something_ – she froze when his fingers grazed the curve of her cheek before tucking several loose strands of pink hair behind her ear.

"Sakura." His words were gentle and she had to work to keep herself from shivering at the husky note in his tone. His palm slid to cover her cheek. "Next time, order something you like."

Before she could make a smart remark in return, he had dropped his hand and taken several steps away from her. Offering her another of those strangely attractive smiles, moved towards the stairs.

Pausing, he leveled her with an almost stern look. "Upgrade your traps, Sakura."

Then he was gone.

Her movements were automatic as she let herself into her apartment, and only when the door was shut and locked behind her did she allow herself to shiver, wrapping her arms around herself in her living room, starring at nothing.

Somehow during the course of the evening things had gotten out of hand. Tucking her bottom lip between her teeth, she stared at the pattern on her rug and desperately tried to figure out when he had gone from merely curious to whatever the hell tonight had been. He had compared her to his mother!

That… was not a good sign. Why hadn't she listened to Sasuke? Just digging a hole in the ground and burying herself alive probably wouldn't have worked, but whatever she had done had obviously _not_ worked _either_.

She needed advice. Somehow, sprinting to the Uchiha compound and beating it out of Sasuke didn't seem like a particularly brilliant idea. That left only one other person who could possibly make any sense out of this mess. Eyes swinging to the clock, she ignored the idea of just going to bed. Grabbing her keys, she exited her apartment, locked the door, and then carefully felt for any sign of Uchiha Itachi. She couldn't think any reason he would be roaming her apartment complex with his chakra suppressed, so she had to assume he was indeed heading home.

Either way, it would be prudent to hurry.

The rooftops were the fastest route across Konoha and she moved quickly across the well-worn mental track that led her straight to Ino's apartment. She had moved out of her parent's home two years before, declaring her need for space. To Sakura's relief, the lights in her apartment were on and she couldn't feel anyone inside her apartment except Ino.

This didn't stop Ino from being annoyed when she opened the door, her hair a tangled bun and her apartment smelling faintly of nail polish.

"Forehead girl, my date is going to be here in fifteen minutes. This had better be _good_."

"Uchiha Itachi compared me to his mother."

Ino stared at her for a good thirty seconds before sighing. "Okay, that's pretty good. Come on in and explain things and I'll decide if I need to make a call to cancel the date I have been planning for a week now."

Sakura pursed her lips, but did as she was asked. The dining room table was scattered with polish and it was obvious that while Ino was very careful and organized with her kunoichi lifestyle, her more personal life was still the riotous mess of color and organized chaos it had always been.

"So when did Itachi compare you to his mother?" Ino asked, shuffling a stack of magazines to the side so Sakura could have a place to sit.

"While we were eating dinner."

Ino paused, her fingers hovering over a wad of tissue. "Wait. You were on a date with Uchiha Itachi?"

"I wouldn't call it a date…" Sakura started.

"Did he buy you dinner?"

"I protested!"

"Have you kissed him?" Ino's eyes fairly gleamed at this question. Sakura crossed her arms and looked away.

"He kissed _me_. It's not the same thing.

"How exactly, did he compare you to his mother?"

Sakura buried her face in her hands. Mumbling through her fingers, she refused to look at Ino's face. "I might have commented on something he told me."

"And?"

"And he might have been a bit amused at my comment."

"And?"

"And then he compared me to his mother!"

Ino lifted a brow. "Let's try this _again_. What did he say, first?"

"We were… we were talking about careers. He asked me about being a medic-nin so I asked him about being what he is since he was young. He mentioned that his mom put her foot down about graduating early and then explained why."

Ino looked fascinated. "Why?"

Sakura cut her a look. "Just trust me when I say it was sneaky, okay?"

"Your idea of sneaky or Naruto's?"

"Mine."

Ino nodded. "Okay. Then what?"

"He compared me to his mother."

Ino stared at her. "He said you were sneaky like his mother?"

"Something like that," Sakura said, shoving her face back into her hands. "What do I do?" She peeked at Ino from the corner of her eye at the continued silence.

"Ino?"

"I think I'm free for wedding dress shopping on Saturday," Ino offered.

Sakura stared at her, eyes wide. Ino took in her expression and swallowed her laughter. Standing up, she headed into her kitchen to send a message to her date before walking back in, offering Sakura mug of tea.

"Calm down forehead-girl. If I thought for once instant that Uchiha Itachi was interested in marrying someone outside the clan, I would have chased him down a long time ago."

Sakura scowled at her. Ino offered her a brilliant smile before settling into the couch.

"So, did you catch this Uchiha, or did he catch you?"

"I didn't... he's not…" She took a deep breath. "Ino, this really can't be that."

Ino picked up her nail polish and started working on a toe. "Let's review shall we? Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, took you out on a date tonight. You might not have seen it as a date, but if there was previous kissing and he paid for the meal, it's a _date_. So I am going to assume there is some back-story here that I don't have which I will get on the threat of a very painful death. However, you're obviously frazzled, so I will let you tell me the basics of it tonight. I'll get the rest of it out of you later."

"How is this supposed to help?"

"I can't give my advice without an explanation, forehead girl." Ino said with a sparkle in her eyes. "I want details. It's not every day that _you_ find someone to date and it's really not every day that the Uchiha-heir decides he has hormones. How exactly did you manage to start dating him?"

"I'm not dating him, Ino!"

"Evidence suggests otherwise."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm being serious, Ino. I'm not dating him. I don't know what game is he playing, but I didn't ask for it. For all I know this is some little mind game of his that has gone further than he intended!"

Ino pursed her lips. "It's possible, I suppose. Shika plays those shogi games with him, you know. He commented once that Itachi just doesn't think the way normal, _rational_ people think. However, you're the one who keeps saying he compared you to his mother. And we both know that no matter how a man denies it, his mother is the one to set a certain standard in the woman they date. I say it's obvious that he is interested in you on some level." She pointed the bottle of polish at her. "So Sakura, what do you want?"

"What?"

"What do you want?" Ino repeated, brow lifted.

"I heard you the first time!"

Ino shook her head. "_Then listen_. You need to figure out what you want. Stop over analyzing this and just think, Sakura. What do you want from Uchiha Itachi? Anything?

Nothing? Perfectly hot sex?"

"Ino!"

"Once you answer that question, you can tell him yes or no accordingly. This isn't some complicated equation, Sakura. Just decide if you want to jump the man's bones or not and then deal with it. It's obvious he wants you. We both know men like Itachi are fun while they last, but one day he's going to marry some clan member and have crazy, red-eyed children. Until then, he seems to have his eye on you. Uchiha Itachi. Sex. It's a good combination." She cocked her head to the side. "Unless you think he wants more than that?"

Sakura opened and closed her mouth and finally just shook her head. Ino nodded.

"Think about it. I have to finish my toes. Thankfully, I only asked him to come by half an hour later than we had agreed. I suppose it's a good thing you're not very chatty today." She wiggled her painted toes and nodded. "Go away and get some sleep, Sakura. You never think well when you're tired."

"I hate it when you make sense."

"Some of us can't help but be perfect." Ino's eyes suddenly danced with mischief. "If you _do_ sleep with him, I want details."

"Ino!"

X

Tsunade wasn't in yet when Itachi arrived. Unsurprised, he settled himself in the window frame, unwilling to step foot into the office without his Hokage present. Dawn was just touching Konoha and he could hear the sounds of early morning as the village slowly started its day. The Uchiha compound had been near silent when he had slipped away, finishing the last of the rice balls his mother had made the night before for the early risers. Fugaku had been moving around in the dojo, but Itachi had no reason to speak to his oto-san unless he was approached by the older man for clan duties.

He dragged his thoughts back to the present and slid off the window when the door opened. Tsunade entered, swearing under her breath as she staggered a little to her desk.

"I have never understood the inclination to getting up so bloody early."

Itachi shut the window and moved to stand in front of her desk while she wearily sat down, cradling her head in her hands. Standing patiently, he wondered if his Hokage's apprentice had picked up this habit along with the others she carried around with her like a shield.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Uchiha?"

"We have located at least one location that materials were bought to create the ring. Unfortunately, the area is in lighting country, so we will not be able to investigate in person."

Tsunade pushed her head up, frowning. "Lightening country… what connection was there to Cloud?"

"We are still working to trace the kanji to a specific region."

Tsunade sighed. "That's unlikely."

"Perhaps."

"Cloud originally had an alliance with Water Country. If I remember the Third's notes correctly, we managed to get our hands on a copy of their treaty. I'll see if Shizune can dig it out from wherever it was stored." Tsunade said finally. "The treaty dissolved several years ago, but it may prove to be useful."

"We are still working to understand the jutsu used in the ring we have in our possession. From what we have discovered, the likelihood is that the ring's main function serves as a sort of communication device between the parties involved. We haven't been able to pinpoint how, but several of the jutsu used are familiar." He paused before continuing. "We may require the expertise of a seal master to study the ring as well."

Tsunade cracked an eye open. "That complicated?"

"It's fairly obvious that blood was used to bind chakra to the ring. There was a high level genjutsu guarding the components of the stone." Itachi replied mildly. "Your student was the one to notice that something was missing."

"Sakura has a gift for noticing genjutsu," Tsunade agreed. She laced her fingers together and stared out the window for several long moments. "If her chakra levels were deeper, she would have gone into special genjutsu training instead of becoming a mednin."

Itachi tucked that little piece of information away for later.

"What do you have to report with your other mission?"

Tsunade watched her ANBU captain as he obviously sifted through the information that he had collected. It was one of the things she appreciated in her dealings with the Uchiha heir, his ability to get straight to the point.

"I am concerned about the security of your hospital." Itachi said finally. "There have been things said and done in regards to my other source that I do not care for."

"Rumors?" Tsunade questioned.

"Nothing yet. My sources are not the most reliable, but I do not like some of the information they have managed to find." Itachi replied. "None of the information itself has come from within Konoha, which means there is a leak."

"Are you any closer to plugging this particular leak?"

"Yes."

"Good." She laced her fingers together and chose her next words carefully. "I will not bring ANBU to stalk my medic-nin while they are saving lives, Uchiha. If there is a leak, they will not be in a position of high clearance."

Itachi nodded.

"Until we have more information, you will be watchful but you will do nothing to bring attention to yourself. Shizune and I will keep watch on the staff."

Itachi considered Tsunade's face, but gave nothing away in his expression. If she wasn't going to be reassigning Sakura to the hospital to help keep an eye on things, that meant she understood the importance of understanding even a piece of the Akatsuki's plans.

"I realize that your project with Sakura will require you to do some hunting outside of Konoha. However, I will only authorize such a mission if you can give me a precise reason why. With Cloud and Sound rumbling as they are, I need you both close." Her brow lifted. "We don't need you taking any shots at Sound with Sakura there to witness it if you ever want to kill Orochimaru, Itachi."

"I understand."

"Good. You're dismissed then." She reached for a stack of scrolls. "If you plan on getting to work as quickly this morning as I think you are, you will be working alone for another hour or so."

Itachi paused. "Oh?"

"She spends her mornings sparring with Rock Lee."

When she looked up, her office was empty.

X

Sakura was thankful for her genin days. Not only had they forged the stepping-stones that would later create the bonds she had with Naruto and Sasuke, but also they had taught her to enjoy early mornings. Without her shinobi training, she would never have been awake enough to appreciate the way the world woke slowly around her. Certainly Tsunade wasn't fond of early morning sunshine. Blowing into her cool hands, she made her way to the training grounds she practiced on. The mornings Lee wasn't on a mission, they had a standing agreement to spar.

She would never, ever forgot those hollow mornings after Team 7 had ended. How lost she had felt. A genin without a team is a genin without direction. The twelve-year-old girl she had been would never have expected salvation for herself to come in the form of her bushy browed, exuberant friend. Desperation had led to her soft question for help and he had taken only look at her hopeful face and promised to do anything he could to "revive her youthful spirit!"

Lee gave her the only two things he had to offer: taijutsu and his friendship. The first year she had spent with him had felt brutal. Even thought they had trained at night, after his long day of work, Lee ran laps with her and was patient in explaining each and every form of Taijutsu. He never faltered, even if she did. Locked away in a secret place in her heart was the knowledge that if it hadn't been for Lee's stubborn friendship and demanding confidence in her, she would never have found the courage to request training from Tsunade.

That first evening of practice, he had arrived with his precious Gai-sensei and they had ran her through a few tests before planning out exactly how to strengthen and nurture her "inner beauty and strength"! For the first time in her life, Sakura found herself dealing with people who didn't care about her chakra levels. They were impressed with her chakra _control_, but they were more interested in building her stamina and speed.

"There comes a point in every shinobi's life, Sakura-san, when you find yourself without the ability to use chakra. It is these moments that separate a living shinobi from a dead one."

Lee had brought her a lighter version of the weights he always wore. When he had seen her doubtful expression, he had offered his a classic Gai pose and beamed at her.

"I asked Tenten if these were too heavy! She assured me that they were the proper weight for a kunoichi!" Lee smile grew even wider. "She also said that while she practices with Neji, if you would like weapons advice, she would be more than happy to give it!"

After that, she had taken to wearing them whenever they spared, when she was doing light exercises during the day, and later, when she did her training with Tsunade. Every day that they were both in Konoha together, Lee would always find the time to meet her, although their evening sparing sessions changed to mornings once she started working evenings in the hospital.

She liked working with the weights. Not only did they harden the muscles that she already had, but she had discovered the stronger she was physically the more chakra she had at her disposal. She would never bulk up like Lee. She was never going to have the upper arms and shoulders that Tenten had earned through years of weapons training, but she was strong enough to lift Naruto into a rescue hold without the use of chakra. She was fast enough that she could fight Lee and occasionally win without chakra as long as he wore his own weights. When they wanted to push themselves, she used her chakra and he took his weights off. Even Sasuke no longer sparred hand to hand with her without using at least the basic level of his Sharingan. It was something she took a great deal of pride in.

"Sakura-san! You are early!" Lee's voice boomed at her from the slowly lightening darkness. He flashed a bright smile and thumbs up. "We can begin as soon as you have stretched!"

Dropping the bag she had brought with her, she pulled out her weights. Genjutsu and her medical jutsu were the only skills she seemingly had a knack for, partially because both required perfect or near perfect control of chakra. Most ninjutsu required more chakra than she was willing to give up in a single move and taijutsu required a physical prowess she had always struggled with. Taijutsu had been more of a challenge than anyone other than Lee knew.

"Thanks Lee!" Sakura said as she went through some basic stretches. "How long have you been out here?"

"I was determined to run a hundred laps before your arrival!"

"Since you're not doing pushups, I assume you finished them?"

"I ran one hundred and one laps before I saw your shinning presence!" Lee agreed with a nod. "Shall we begin with weights, Sakura-san?"

"I think we better." Sakura said with a grimace. "I haven't used them in a while and you're so bloody fast without them."

Lee smiled, showing off all his teeth. "But you are quick as well! The last time we fought, if you had been using your chakra, I would have surely suffered an ill fate."

Sakura finished tying the last weight into place and went through a few combinations to remind her body how it felt to be weighed down. Sliding into a fighting stance, she smiled at Lee. A morning spent doing nothing but fighting was what she needed to get her head on straight.

"All right, Lee. I'm ready when you are."

He flashed another thumbs up, slide into position, and attacked.

X

Itachi was familiar with Rock Lee. He recognized the determination it took to become a jounin, regardless of chakra. The fact that Rock Lee had accomplished it without chakra was nothing short of remarkable.

He was also aware of the torch Rock Lee carried for Haruno Sakura. Indeed, he'd been aware of this fact long before he'd ever taken an interest in the kunoichi. No one in the same vicinity as Rock Lee and Haruno Sakura could suffer any doubt of Rock Lee's infatuation unless they were blind, deaf, _and_ dumb. Itachi was neither.

If Sakura had made it evident that she was not interested in dating Rock Lee, and Itachi was sure that she had, or else he'd know about it, why did she spend her mornings sparring with him? It was not in Sakura's nature to deceive someone she cared about, and he could not imagine her leading someone on.

Itachi was surprised at the urgency of his impulse to separate Sakura from her admirer, but he did not question it. He knew _his_ response to seeing Sakura in action, and he could not imagine Rock Lee's to be dissimilar. It took an actual effort stop himself from charging directly into the field and halting their spar immediately.

Pausing to observe their spar undetected, however, was well worth the effort. Their moments were fluid, rife with familiarity, and vicious. Itachi activated the first level of his sharingan to observe them more completely. As he had expected, the spar was strictly taijutsu and he could see the slight lag in Sakura's movements which indicated she was wearing weights.

He watched her execute a particularly difficult combination with flawless speed and precision, only to have it blocked, blow for blow, by a grinning Rock Lee. Pieces began to fall into place. Sakura had mentioned that she had found someone to train with her in the evenings while his younger brother and their other teammate had been pursuing their separate paths. What Itachi was seeing now was the result of that training, and he was likely seeing her sparring partner as well. If Sakura had come to Rock Lee for help in her quest to get stronger… yes, it made sense.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. That didn't mean he would let it continue.

X

Sakura loved sparring with Lee. There was something about taking on someone stronger, faster, and better equipped in a subject than you and fighting against it. Something even headier when you could match and effectively counter the person you were fighting. Lee was a master of taijutsu. Sasuke was good at it, Kakashi was fast, and Tsunade had never particularly cared for more than the basics. But with Lee she could unleash all her frustrations, could focus her movements to blocks, counters, and combinations of and burn all her problems up. Lee never faltered. Instead, he challenged her, demanding her complete attention and focus least she slip up and lose.

She _hated_ to lose.

Lee's eyes gleamed with challenge and she responded, flinging herself into another series of complicated, high level taijutsu they had spent the last two weeks perfecting. If possible Lee's smile was even wider as sweat started to build on his temples. Sakura felt an answer smile pull at her lips, and as she shifted her weight to counter a particularly fast punch, she stumbled when her weight connected with nothing but thin air.

Chest burning with exertion, she spun around on her heel, chakra threads reaching out to track Lee, even while she automatically fell back into a defensive position to see who had interrupted her spar and _why_.

Her eyes clashed with the red of a sharingan and something anticipatory shot through her stomach. Chest heaving, she stared at Itachi; mind quickly analyzing and categorizing all the possible way he could have….

"Displacement technique?" She finally heaved, her brows pulling into a frown. ANBU used it to vanish bodies, but she had never heard of a live body being displaced in such a manner.

The edges of his lips curled slowly, his eyes gleaming with more than the sharingan.

"Yes."

"Bring him back." She growled, irritated that he had just gone and displaced her friend. "We were in the middle of something."

To her shock, Itachi's stance changed. There was something almost liquid to his posture, a sort of feline grace she would never be able to copy. His smile didn't move, but it was somehow _sharper_.

"If you want him back, _Sakura_, you'll have to win."

* * *

Well, that tides us over for this week! Now if you'll excuse us, -ducks behind giant wall- we will see you all again next week. And remember: dead authors can not update stories.


	10. Straight Through His Ribcage

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto, but are thinking about purchasing a plushie.

Once again we are just floored by the response to our last chapter. Thank you so very much for taking the time to respond! We cannot express how much we enjoy hearing from everyone.

Also, we regret to announce that after this chapter 'The Way of the Wind' will be on _temporary hiatus_. Expect to see a post from us in a few weeks. We just wanted to let you know there was going to be a delay in chapters due to outside influences! We should pick things back up and be back to updating regularly by mid-June.

Again, thank you so much!

Just Enough

* * *

___1 and 1/2 Years Ago  
_Konoha Training Grounds_  
_

Naruto crouched down next to her, his palms pressed together in an attempt to contain his excitement. "Do you think this is going to work?"

Sakura reached over and slapped him in the back of the head. "I thought you said you had gotten faster?"

Naruto scowled at her. "I have! But so has teme! He was training with Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura leaned forward so her nose was almost touching his and his eyes crossed a little. "Would you like for me to practice what I learned on your head?"

Naruto leaned back and grinned. "That's okay. I mean, can we do it after we strip him of his precious cargo?"

Sakura stared at him before turning back to the direction that Sasuke would be coming from. Part of her felt a little guilty for what they were about to do to Sasuke, but the rest of her was filled with the smug glee of someone who had been taunted one too many times. He should have learned his lesson at twelve when they shoved him off a bridge.

"Now, you remember the plan?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. I go distract him, you cloak your chakra, and then we hit him together."

"You remembered to bring the rope?"

"Yes, but you know he will use that damn sharingan on us if he even _thinks_ he knows what we're planning."

Sakura eyed him from the corner of her eye. "Going to be hard to do that with a mouthful of grass, don't you think?"

X

"Oooo. This one has bento flakes." Naruto said as he bit into his rice ball, eyes half closed in bliss. "Must be one of Itachi's since you're always saying how much you hate bento flakes."

Sasuke's words were lost in what sounded like hissing noises. Sakura adjusted her position on his shoulder blades, making a point to wiggle just enough to drive his gut back into the ground. Tangling her fingers into his hair, she lifted his head.

"What was that, Sasuke?"

"I WILL KILL YOU…"

She shoved him back down. Naruto smiled from where he was sitting crossed legged on Sasuke's knees, pinning his legs. Neither trusted the fact that his hands and arms were tied.

"This is for your own good." Naruto told Sasuke. "You know what Kakashi says about sharing and teamwork and looking underneath the underneath!"

_"Hmm._ This one has fish." Sakura said cheerfully. "You know, Sasuke-kun, it was very nice of you to share with us today. I hadn't had lunch."

More incoherent snarls came from below them.

Naruto cocked his head. "I think he suggested that you finish them off Sakura. We both know how he hates for you to go hungry."

Sakura batted her lashes at Naruto. "Why, Naruto! How kind of you; how about we half it?"

Naruto placed a hand on his chest, his eyes sparkling. "Why, Sakura! I am honored!"

Taking out his kunai, he neatly sliced the last rice ball in half. With a flourish that was not un-Lee like, he handed it over. Lifting them up, they saluted each other before finishing them off.

"So?" Naruto asked as a wiggling Sasuke jerked around their bodies. "What do we do now?"

Sakura licked her finger. "I'm thinking run like hell."

Naruto grinned at her again. "You're just so full of excellent ideas today."

Sakura grinned brightly. "I couldn't do it without you, Naruto!"

X

_Present Day  
_Konoha Training Field D

If Sakura had been thinking clearly, she never would have taken Itachi up on his challenge. She would have straightened her stance and dropped her hands and demanded that he do his duty as a Konoha shinobi. But she wasn't thinking clearly.

Itachi had interrupted her in the middle of a good fight. Her adrenaline was rushing, her fight or flight impulses in full swing, and then he had just appeared in the middle of it. He'd been stalking her for weeks, disrupting her life, staring at her with those eyes – hell; he'd even kissed her.

'AND HE COMPARED US TO HIS MOTHER!'

Sakura was more than ready to take it out of his hide.

All the same, she couldn't just go charging in without a plan. This was Uchiha Itachi. Just thinking about what she knew about his skills brought up memories of shadowed secrets and proficiency so profound no one really knew the depths of his capacity.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. She was a shinobi as well and the shadows were her home. She was teammates with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. She had been trained by the Hokage herself. She had defeated Sasori of the Red Sands.

And he was taunting her with his pretty pinwheel eyes.

"You're going down, Uchiha." Sakura drawled the words out slowly, fingers deliberately reaching for the weight ties on her wrist. Her eyes locked with his as she deftly began removing the weights. She kept her movements slow and precise, flicking knots and buckles out of the way almost carelessly. His eyes burned and the smile slowly dropped of his face as the first, second, third and final arm weight dropped onto the ground. A small smirk gathered at the edges of her lips as she settled into a half crouch, hands flicking behind her calves, finger tips grazing over careful knots before they to, fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Air hissed between the Uchiha's teeth, and Sakura used her half couch to slide into a more defensive stance. Fingers curling into a familiar set, she lifted a brow at him, silently daring him to make the first move.

The smile that he gave her was vicious, showing off a glimmer of teeth. The breeze tugged long strands of his hair away from his back and his body seemed to flow into the first movements.

He was so damn fast. Sakura had seen him in battle, but she had never actually thought about how he moved before. Not like this. With the pinwheels of the sharingan burning at her from his face, with that unholy smile curled on his mouth, Sakura felt a thrill roll down her spine as she sidestepped and twisted through his almost careless combination.

Except Uchiha Itachi did nothing without purpose.

She'd been expecting the kick, and it came hard and fast. Sakura jumped up, flipping overhead to land behind him, except he had had already responded to her movement and had flickered so that he was now behind her.

His arm wrapped around her waist lightning fast and he was pulling her close, likely to say something snide, when she threw all her weight backwards into him, using his own momentum against him. She crashed into him for a split second and then abruptly reversed, spinning safely several feet away. Sakura balanced herself by crouching down defensively. She automatically reached for her kunai, but the narrowing of his eyes told her it would be dangerous to up the fight to that level.

So instead she quirked her brow and slammed her knuckles into the ground, channeling her chakra so that the ground exploded around his feet. Half a second before the force of her punch connected with the ground, he had shifted out of the way.

But so had she. Throwing herself into the falling debris, she executed Lee's favorite roll and came up in time to block combination of punches that made her knuckles sting. Jerking her head back, she used her shorter height to drive an elbow forward, following the motion with a particularly nasty series of jabs that he not only blocked, but used against her by grabbing her wrist and flinging her weight to the side, his hair brushing her cheek he was so close.

Sakura shifted her hand in his grasp and clasped his wrist in return. It was a matter of heartbeats before she'd infused enough chakra in her arm to throw him—he landed with far too small a thump and she cursed. Substitution jutsu. When had he managed to do a substitution jutsu—and without using any seals!

More importantly, where was he now?

Very impressive. Itachi hadn't really expected anything less, but actually fighting her himself was… he touched the tip of his tongue to the roof of his mouth… exhilarating.

She wasn't quite good enough to be a challenge, but she was good enough to be surprising. At this first level of his sharingan, her movements still blurred enough to keep him on his toes. And when she had shattered the ground with one blow…

He moved and appeared behind her, dropping down low to sweep her legs out from under her. She'd been waiting for him though, and flickered. Pain exploded in his back, between his second and third ribs and he felt one of them crack.

Itachi's eyes flashed hotter and he couldn't stop the grin that was peeling back his lips. She'd hit him. She'd actually managed to hit him. Grin still firmly in place, he twisted, reaching for her wrists before she had completed her follow through and flipped her. He felt her breath hiss between teeth at the hit, and his shifted his weight forward before she could react and pressed his hand to her throat, finger tips barely grazing the flesh and leaned forward.

"Hold."

She stared up at him, green eyes deep and sparking as her pulse beat rapidly against his fingertips. Her face was flushed and perspiration made her skin slick under his fingers, and he greedily drank. Her. In.

"Uchiha – "

She stopped when his fingers slid over her lips. _Tsking_ low in his throat, he leaned forward, ignoring how his hair slid past her cheek. Breathing in the scent of her skin mingled with her exertion, he corrected her.

"Call me Itachi."

Her mouth tasted faintly salty with sweat and he slipped his hands into her hair, savoring the way her mouth felt under his. Sucking lightly on her lip, he coaxed her into the kiss before scrapping his teeth gently against the flesh under his mouth. She gasped as he lifted his head, green eyes dilated and a little dazed.

And then her hands were tangled in his hair and she was pulling him down for another kiss. She nipped lightly at his lips before pressing her soft ones to his, easing the sting. Her fingers tightened in his hair and Itachi groaned at the sensation.

Sakura wasn't entirely sure what was happening. One minute, she had been exulting in the feeling of victory that came from actually landing a hit on Uchiha Itachi, the next she'd been flat on her back, staring into his spinning eyes.

She'd struggled. Of course she'd struggled. But he'd pinned her effortlessly and then his hand was on her throat and it was gentle and that was terrifying. He was confident enough that all he had to do was barely touch her, and it was more of a threat than she received from half of the enemies she'd faced in her life.

But he wasn't an enemy. He was Uchiha Itachi. And she felt the heat from his barely-there fingertips like a brand. He was so close she felt like she was breathing him in with each gasp.

She'd started to ask him to get off, but then his fingers had slid over her lips, warm and firm and her lips had tingled. Then he spouted off with that ridiculous request again and he was kissing her.

This was no brush against her lips. This was an assault. Painstaking, meticulous, and gentle. He slipped his hands into her hair while he teased her lips with his, soothing and taunting and so soft and warm. Fissions of warmth ran down her spine and exploded in her stomach and when he lifted his head she was cold and wanting.

And now she was kissing him again. But _she_ was kissing _him_ and her hands were tangled in his hair and she was easing herself up on her elbows so she could be closer to him. He groaned into her mouth before sliding the fingers of one hand down the back of her neck to rest between her shoulder blades. His hand burned through the thin material of her shirt as he lifted her up so that her chest was pressed against his. His nose nudged her cheek as he changed the angle of the kiss, and she couldn't stop the low noise of approval she made anymore than she could keep her hands from tangling further into his hair, nails scrapping the back of his neck.

With her body pressed up against his, she felt the way his chest vibrated more than she heard it. His fingers tightened in her hair as he released her mouth. She opened her eyes to catch a glimpse of red before he had pulled her head back and settled his mouth behind her ear. Her grip on his neck tightened, nails digging in when the tip of his tongue stroked the sensitive skin there before sliding along her throat in a series of nibbling kisses. Squeezing her eyes shut, she whimpered when he found a particular sensitive area above her collarbones. She could feel the way his lips curved against her skin and she panted as the hand on her back moved, shifting her weight so he could angle her up higher, giving his mouth easier access to the delicate skin at the base of her throat. Hands sliding down his neck, she settled them against the muscles in his upper arms and shifted her legs…

He flinched.

Sakura froze. That little movement of pain yanked her out of the warm, rather pleasurable haze she had allowed herself to sink into, and brought her right back into the middle of exactly what she was doing. She was hanging in Itachi's arms, her head tilted back, arms wrapped around his shoulders, and she was pretty sure if he hadn't just flinched, she would have had her legs wrapped around his waist as well. She still wanted to.

Swallowing, she bravely opened her eyes. "Uchiha-san?"

Teeth grazed the side of her neck and she squeaked. "Itachi, Sakura."

Lowering her hands from his shoulders, she ignored the way her stomach lurched at the almost dangerous note in his voice. Placing her palms flat on the ground, she carefully levered up her upper body, pulling her knee away from his side.

"I cracked a rib, didn't I?"

He lifted his head and she watched as the sharingan faded to black. The expression in those eyes didn't make her any more comfortable than the mesmerizing effect of the sharingan and she swallowed hard. His hand was tracing patterns along her spine and the heavy lidded expression of satisfaction she could clearly read left her mouth dry.

"Yes, you did."

It should be illegal for a man to have that much approval on his face and in eyes for her ability to crack bone in a single hit while looking like he still wanted to bend her over backwards. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she shoved her libido down and did her best to level him with a frown.

And she shifted backwards. Slowly. Because his eyes were watching her too closely and she didn't dare give the impression that she was retreating. This was a strategic relocation, not a chance for her to run.

"You need to take your shirt off."

The corner of his mouth kicked up and he tilted his head, eyes slowly trailing down her body. She really was in so much trouble.

"I need to see your ribs, Uchiha-san." She deliberately used the formality to drive a barrier between them, and his eyes narrowed until he was watching her from under those pretty lashes of his.

For a moment, Sakura thought he was going to repeat his ridiculous demand. But instead something heated in his eyes.

"As you wish," he ran his hand down her spine one last time, stopping to support her lower back, "Sakura."

His movements were still so smooth, and as he slid out from underneath her to shift her to the ground and stand before her, Sakura couldn't help but stare at him with appreciation. He was holding her eyes with his, and she couldn't look away.

With deliberate movements, he reached to the bottom of his shirt and began to slowly ease his shirt over his head. How many times had she made one of her teammates take their shirt off so she could heal them after she'd busted a rib? Never, not in the hospital, not even with Sasuke, had her mouth gone dry like this. It took a concentrated effort not to let her eyes drop and devour every inch of skin he was painstakingly revealing.

When he finally had removed his shirt and held it loosely in one hand, Sakura gulped. She had expected his smoothly muscled torso and abdomen, he was a shinobi after all, but she had not expected her sudden desire to smooth her hands down the dips and bulges of his smooth, pale, skin. He had a few scars, and Sakura had to wonder if he kept them out of spite. There was one crossing diagonally across his left ribcage that he clearly should have gotten attention for and equally obviously didn't. She wanted to trace it and see if it would tell her its story.

Suddenly aware that she had been staring, and that he had been watching her stare. Sakura narrowed her eyes. Sliding her tongue between her teeth, she bit down to give herself something to concentrate on. Pulling up her nursing façade, she motioned for him forward. She would not give him the reaction he wanted.

"This is going to be easier if you're sitting down."

Those eyes darkened as he watched her hands move before he took a step forward and folded us legs up under him, sinking into the ground effortlessly. Her eyes narrowed and she let a breath roll out between her teeth.

"Uchiha-san," she scolded as she moved to his side, sliding along to press her hands to the area that she had driven her chakra into. That had to have hurt even if his face and eyes didn't show it. His skin shivered under her palms and she lifted her eyes to look at his face. He had tilted his head to watch and his eyes burned down at her.

Lowering her eyes back his side; she ran her fingers lightly along his skin, feeling his ribs carefully with her fingers. He flinched when she settled on his third rib and she traced her fingers long the length of it. Settling her hand along the area he had flinched, she allowed her chakra to slide from her palm into his skin.

"It's cracked," she said. "Thankfully, this sort of mending doesn't take long."

"I'm not in a hurry."

She refused to look to see if the expression on his face matched the soft velvet of his tone. Instead, she pulled more chakra into hands and sent it into the bone. She knew mending was uncomfortable, but he never moved. Carefully testing his other ribs for signs of bruising and torn muscles, she healed the damaged skin cells as she removed her chakra, careful to remove any sign of her blow.

"You shouldn't bruise," she murmured, fingers skimming his side before they hesitated over the long diagonal scar. "Did you ever get this looked at?"

"No."

She scowled up at him. "That was stupid."

He lifted a brow and she ignored it, lowering her eyes as her fingers probed the scar.

"Kunai?"

"Hmmm."

"Did it break bone?"

"Yes."

Her scowl deepened as she fed chakra into the scar. "I am going to assume that if it was causing problems while you were breathing, you would have mentioned it." She put some bite into her tone and kept her eyes on his scar. "You got lucky. If you had gotten any scar tissue in your pleural membrane you would have had trouble breathing. I'm not sensing any nerve damage. There is a reason we have mednin, Uchiha-san."

Itachi was profoundly satisfied. Every brush of her fingers over his skin was bliss. The power that she held contained in those slender digits, used to hurt, now used to heal, was titillating. To say nothing of the scrape of her calloused, well-worked fingers over the rarely exposed areas of his body…

There were only several situations which could be better than this, and some part of his mind was rapidly listing them, as well as planning on how he would make them possible and soon, but the rest of his attention was focused on cataloguing every iota of this experience. The scent of crushed grass around them, the shadow of her presence before him contrasting with the sun on his back, the confident brushes of her hands against him, the way her brow furrowed and her lips puckered in concentration…

He lifted one hand and tangled it in her hair; gently pulling her head back so that she was forced to look him in the eyes. "Really, Sakura. How am I expected to take such a scolding seriously when, even after all we have done together," and he deliberately dropped his gaze to take her in before meeting her gaze once again, "you still refuse to call me by my name."

Her eyes narrowed. He knew what she was going to say before she said it. He loved her spirit, but the fact that she was still fighting him on this was…irksome. Especially since in his mind they were well past formalities now. If Haruno Sakura had ever wanted the whisper of a chance to escape him, she never should have kissed him back, never should have proven to him the fire and passion he suspected burned within her.

"Uch—"

Itachi swallowed the rest of his surname with his lips, leaning upwards and capturing hers with his. He brought up his other hand to rest at her pulse point so he could feel it speed up at his attentions. Meticulously, he traced the outline of her lips with his tongue before he tightened his grip on her hair and pulled her closer to him.

The ground disappeared under her knees as Itachi kissed her. Her hand pressed against his side in surprised, and shivered as the hand at her neck slowly drew a line down her collarbones, between her breasts, across her abdomen to wrap around her waist and to pull her flush against him. She gasped at the feeling and dug her fingers into his side as he took advantage, deepening the kiss with careful, deliberate strokes of his tongue. It was hard to think with her palms against his skin and his mouth on hers, hard to want to think as his fingers moved in her hair. His body felt wonderful against hers and the possibility of running her hands all over that warm, smooth skin had her fingers clenching against his side.

She wasn't ready for this.

The surge of heat in her gut as he sucked her tongue into his mouth and bit down lightly cleared her mind of anything but him long enough that one of her hands rode up his spine and into the length of his hair before she could think clearly again. The hand he had settled against her hip was now burning a path up her own spine under her shirt, rough calluses catching against her skin in a way that made her want to her arch her back and purr.

She needed to breathe. Angling her head back, she panted and swallowed hard, ruthlessly ignoring her rising need. "Uchi-"

This time she did whimper, her hands tightening in his hair hard enough to pull as he dragged his teeth lightly across the sensitive patch of nerves he had found early on her neck before stroking the sting with his tongue. Her resolve wavered and she gasped for air.

"Stop."

The word came out more of a moan than an actual command as his fingers started to slide around her ribs, and to her astonishment, he stopped moving. His breath was harsh against her neck, lips hovering over her pulse, but he wasn't moving. Sakura trembled in his embrace. She could feel the tension in his body, he was like a crouching tiger, ready to spring, and he was restraining himself for her. Sakura knew there was danger in his compact form, and the fact that he would be able to overpower her and had stopped at her softly whispered word sent a coil of heat through her along with the heady rush of power and appreciation.

He finally moved, achingly slow, and she almost felt the distance between them as he slid upwards – a bare inch away from her skin until his face was even with hers. He lifted his gaze to stare into her eyes and all of his shields were down. The hunger in his eyes stole her breath. Very deliberately, very slowly, he leaned down to brush his lips against hers in the faintest of caresses.

Itachi pulled back and held her gaze. "The day is coming, Sakura."

The hand in her hair caressed down her neck before he released her, sliding his hand out from under her shirt to clasp her waist, and he casually lifted her with that hand as he stood.

Her feet firmly on the ground, she stared into the dark eyes of Uchiha Itachi for the space of several heartbeats before he took one slow, deliberate step backwards. A smile curled the corners of his lips, warm, inviting, and when he dropped his gaze from hers to drag his eyes up from the tip of her toes to her mussed hair and swollen lips, it became insufferably self-satisfied. He caught her gaze just long enough for Sakura to feel the weight of Itachi's smug contentment, and then she was alone.

Sakura blinked. Staring around the torn-up practice field in shock, she felt horror well up in her as she realized the full magnitude of what had just happened. She had just made out with Uchiha Itachi. "Oh shit."

X

Sasuke occasionally wondered what stroke of fate had given him a genius for a brother and complete idiot for a best friend. He supposed at one point in his life, Sakura had balanced out the equation with steady influence on Naruto, but any karmic points she had won had evaporated the moment his brother had taken an interest. He was trying very hard to ignore what was going on between Itachi and Sakura and for the most part he was succeeding. Kakashi had once asked his team if a tree fell and no one was around to hear it, did it make any noise? Currently, Sasuke was marching along on the assumption that if he didn't see the tree, there wasn't a tree to fall.

Except, thanks to the idiot he had mistakenly once called his best friend, he found himself eating ramen at a familiar stand. Cornered. Even if he hadn't been holding a chopstick full of noodles, even if Naruto hadn't chosen a booth that gave him absolutely no strategic escape routes, he doubted he would have succeeded in escaping. Inuzuka Hana was a problem he had learned to avoid. Her penchant for setting traps for Itachi, both literally and figuratively, and his brother's sadistic glee for running other people into them had been life lessons he was not overly fond of remembering.

This was why he was so disconcerted to find himself surrounded. Shisui was missing the common sense kami had given Naruto, Itsuki's long suffering posture promised that Hana had enough blackmail that he would be dealing with those creepy chakra eating bugs, and Hana herself was sporting a fanged smile that was entirely too familiar.

Vaguely Sasuke wondered how much of this he could drop into his brother's lap.

"What, Inuzuka?"

"Where's your brother?"

Sasuke blinked, once. "I beg your pardon?"

Shisui had the gall to roll his eyes. "It's been almost four days since Hokage-sama took him off active duty."

Even Naruto was looking at Shisui strangely. The blonde swallowed, thankfully, before piping up. "You want to take him on a date or something?"

Sasuke wondered, again, what he had done wrong in his past life? "I don't keep tabs on my brother, Inuzuka."

Hana snorted. "He keeps tabs on you." And then her eyes wandered the area, a frown tugging at her mouth. "Except I haven't seen him around you lately either."

Gritting his teeth, he deliberately took a bite of his lunch and chewed slowly. Surely Hana didn't actual expect him to respond to that?

Itsuki finally spoke up. "Hana is… concerned."

Sasuke stomped on the urge to roll his eyes. "She's nosy."

Hana pointed one clawed finger at him. "Your brother normally shows up bored by now! We haven't seen him in four days!" She leaned forward, eyes narrowed. "Your clan isn't doing something weird again, are they?"

Naruto choked on his noodles. Sasuke ignored it in favor of taking another bite of his lunch before speaking. "If it's clan business, Inuzuka, it would be none of yours."

Naruto snorted at that one, rolling his eyes as far back as he could.

"Bullshit and you know it, Sasuke." Hana said with a growl. She tapped her nails on the table. "If it isn't the clan, then I don't know what it is. Please don't tell me he rediscovered sex. It's been years since his hormonal kick, so unless he's batting for the other side..."

This time, Sasuke choked.

Naruto was looking at Hana strangely. "He likes girls."

Hana's eyes narrowed in on him. "How would you know that?"

Sasuke kicked Naruto in the ankle. The motion wasn't missed by anyone, but that was okay. In fact, it was taking a monumental amount of effort to keep from letting the satisfied smile he could feel building loose. Instead, he leveled Inuzuka with his best flat stare.

"It's none of your business."

It was like baiting Chouji with a stack of perfect little cakes. Keeping his face stern, he stared her down. Sasuke watched the wheels turn in Itachi's ex-genin teammate's brain. The way her eyes widened just a little at the corners as she put the dots into place, the way her eyes narrowed as she searched his face for a trick, and the way her shoulders loosened in disbelief.

'Oh yes,' Sasuke thought with glee. 'Just keep considering the idea of Itachi with a girl.' Hana was like the rest of her clan. Once they had an idea in their head, they lost all sense of subtleness. She would hit his brother straight on, and while not exactly a threat, it would be an annoyance. An annoyance he would have to be very careful to pretend he knew nothing about, but one he could savor in the depths of his mind.

Besides, he didn't want Sakura thinking he had any involvement with whatever it was Hana would do once she figured out was going on. Itachi might be sadistic, but there was only so far he could push those limits without their ka-chan noticing. Sakura had no such compunction to follow the rules when breaking his body into small, painful pieces.

He had to give her credit though. Hana did her best to put him off the scent.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

"No." Sasuke said flatly, deliberately going back to his now cold noodles.

She growled at him.

Lifting his eyes, he raised a brow. "Is there something you would like to say, Inuzuka?"

Sasuke could feel the sudden tension in the two men behind her. Hana was a good fighter. She fought dirty and hard, and after spending her genin days with Itachi, she was fast. She also had the nasty habit of setting traps long before she actually entered into a fight. Another knack she had picked up from his brother. Unfortunately for Hana, while she played dirty, Sasuke had grown up watching both his mother and his brother tangle each other and others into nasty little games that usually left the unfortunate soul they had gone against in mental (and sometimes physical) pieces. If it came down to a fight, he would win.

Hana finally sighed. "I'll figure it out, you know."

Sasuke shrugged, kicking Naruto again for good measure and finished his meal. He didn't look up until he was positive that Itsuki hadn't left one of his little bugs to overhear their conversation. A trick he had never been more grateful his brother had passed along.

Naruto was eyeing his suspiciously. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Sasuke snorted. "Did what?"

Naruto looked perplexed. "I don't know, but I know you did something. You're practically smirking."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and dropped a few coins onto the table. "Practice field at three?"

Naruto grinned. "You know it. And don't think I'm not going to tell Sakura whose fault it is if Hana starts bothering her."

Sasuke just shrugged and left the ramen stand.

X

Sakura leaned against the wall of her shower, letting the hot water beat over the muscles of her back and shoulders as she rinsed her hair. Resting her forehead against the wall, she resisted the urge to start pounding the wall with it.

What had she been thinking? Raking her bangs away from her face, she let out a long breath. She hadn't been. She'd been reacting. Reacting to that mouth and those hands and that hair… this time she did drop her head against the wall with a little force. Reacting to Uchiha Itachi was not a good idea. He was too adept at reading people, too good at finding the cracks. She grimaced. Not that he had had to look too hard to find hers today. He had kissed her once –once!- and she had dropped her guard and…

It had been rather carnal there on that practice field. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to spar there again. And Lee… Sakura groaned.

He had dropped Lee in a pond somewhere outside of the village. He had come running up, hair sticking in all directions demanding to know if she was all right. She honestly had not known how to respond to his question. Discovering just how appealing it was to have a very dangerous, very handsome man direct his very forceful personality at you both during the spar and… after left her a bit nervous. It had been flattering.

Breathtaking. She admitted it. Uchiha Itachi was an intense man. To have all that focus, all that intensity directed at her left her feeling a little weak kneed.

Turning off the water, she reached for a towel and sighed. Okay. She admitted it. She was attracted to Itachi, at least on a physical level. His eyes, his hair, that smile… they were distracting. Her brain kept replaying how deftly he had played her body, how easily he had wrapped her in sensation and him. If it hadn't been for his broken rib, she wasn't sure she would have had the mind to stop where things were going the first time. She wasn't sure where she had gotten the will power to stop him the second.

Rubbing her hair dry, she headed into the bedroom to pull out her nightclothes. She was going to have to figure out exactly what she was going to do about this. She was in the same position she had been in days ago; she didn't know what he wanted. She didn't know what had caught his attention, no matter how hard she searched through their interactions. She had to assume that it had happened sometime during that mission or shortly after, but she just didn't know what. It was starting to bug her. She hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. She had followed protocol and done her job. She supposed it didn't really matter what had caught his attention as long as she knew what his intentions were. Which she didn't.

He wanted to learn her. He wanted her to tremble at his touch. He was self-assured enough to assume that it wasn't going too much longer for one; she just wished she knew what the other meant. How was she supposed to play this without getting in too deep? Playing around with the Uchiha heir was dangerous. Exhilarating, but dangerous. If she wasn't careful she was going to turn around and find that she was too attached, too involved and he had whatever it was he wanted and was done. Gone.

Reaching into a drawer one of her teammates old shirts, she froze at the feel of the material her fingers encountered. Sasuke's training shirts were thin, patched and made of cotton that was soft only through countless washing. The material under her hand was so soft her calluses didn't catch and of a heavier material than she had been expecting. Closing her eyes tightly, she fisted her hand and pulled it out of the drawer. Taking a deep, calming breath, she cracked one eye open and looked at the shirt between her fingers.

The material was black, except for the half of a familiar red and white fan. It was obviously larger than Sasuke's old shirt, and her teeth were gritting so hard together she could hear them grinding. Dropping the shirt onto the bed, she yanked the drawer open and stared in disbelief at the stack of neat, folded shirts. The three shirts she had stolen from Sasuke, and even the old shirt Kiba had left after a long mission together that had never been returned, were gone. Only the shorts she had wheedled out of Naruto were still in place, starring up at her in all their faded orange glory.

She was going to kill him. Clenching her fists hard enough to hurt, she trembled with the force of her temper. The urge to break something had her taking several small, careful steps away from her dresser as she hissed a breath out between her teeth. He had broken into her apartment. Again. Taken her favorite sleeping wear and replaced it with his. As if she would actually wear it. If the clothing hadn't been dyed black she would have shredded them into field bandages.

Reaching forward, she yanked out Naruto's old shorts and pulled them on, fingers straining the seams with the force of her temper. She considered sleeping in her breast bindings, but the last time she had dared she had given an ANBU officer an eyeful when he came to wake her up for an emergency at the hospital.

No need to tempt fate twice. Sucking in a deep breath to stifle some of the rage burning in her chest, she spun on her heel and headed for her closet. She would be damned if she was going to wear anything that man gave her.

Digging through a stack of boxes she finally found the one she was looking for. Yanking off the lid, she pulled out a negligee that Ino given her as a birthday present a year ago. It wasn't something she was particularly comfortable going to bed in, these things were not made to be comfortable, but if she slept in her breast bindings then she would be decent. Might raise an eyebrow or two for her strange habits, but at least she wouldn't give some stupid male more of an eyeful than he deserved.

What was that bastard thinking? Underneath the smoldering temper came a small fission of nerves. Forcing her emotions into the little pocket she pushed them while working; she turned back to her still open drawer and eyed the clothing. What was he trying to communicate with this? She sincerely doubted that anyone besides his mother actually touched his clothing… she had no idea why he had given them to her. Her nails bit into her palms as she tried to read underneath the underneath.

If he were Naruto she would have assumed that he had done it to piss her off. But she hadn't made out with Naruto on a practice field. He hadn't backed her into corners and played with her blood soaked hair and hadn't watched her with those eyes which made promises that heated her blood.

Swallowing, she reached over and shut the drawer. Right now was not the time to be analyzing this. She was too worked up and too physically tired to think this through properly. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would deal with that damn Uchiha and get him to return her shirts.

And she would be a hell of a lot more careful around him.

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	11. Strategic Maneuvers

**Disclaimer**: Maybe someday, but not today.

Aaaaaaaand were back! Having successfully survived vacations, apartment hunting, and various other and many obstacles we bring you the next chapter! We hope that we managed to make our normal, scheduled updates from now own but, summer is a time of chaos! So keep watch here! Never fear! We're having too much fun writing this fic to stop any time soon. As always, your feedback and encouragement is greatly appreciated! We look forward to every comment we get! Thank you so much! We continue to be floored by the wonderful response we have received so far!

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_Ten Years Ago  
_Uchiha Training Ground

Itachi tossed another kunai lazily at the target in front of him and pulled another from the pouch on his hip before the first had hit. The rhythmic thudding of steel into wood was soothing. The training grounds he had chosen were far away from his family's compound and gave him a semblance of privacy.

Tomorrow was the start of the Chunin exams.

Tossing the last of the kunai into the wide post, he reached for the senbon needles strapped to his upper arm. He had no doubt that his team would pass the first round of the exam. Itsuki and Hana had met certain expectations as his teammates and both were capable enough genin that they would find little difficulty in the team round of the competition.

Walking toward the target that was now covered in a wide pattern of weapons he began pulling them out of the deep gouges in the wood. The sun was starting to set and he had been training by himself since noon. The evening air chilled the sweat on his skin and the basics of weapons throwing allowed him to relax as his muscled cooled.

He wasn't particularly worried about the individual rounds. He knew his own strengths and he looked forward to challenge of matching his skills against the shinobi of the other villages. The clan elders were already making noises of how proud they would be if he succeeded and how delightful it would be to have someone so young as Chunin. There was still some lingering bitterness towards his ka-chan and the fact that he was thirteen and just now taking the test. Shisui was already an active chunin and rumors that he was being considered for ANBU were quietly circulating the clan elders.

Pulling the last senbon loose, he tucked the weapon away and considered the target in front of him for several long moments. The clan was going to be an issue. Already they were dropping hints about the nearest ANBU exams and the possibility of rising to special jounin within the year. Some of the other clans had already passed children his age into higher ranked fields of expertise and there was concern about the students of the academy that were Sasuke's age. Particularly Hyuuga Neji. Soft, carefully worded suggestions about being an example for his brother and upholding the clan name had reached his ears some time ago.

He had no interested in the politics of the clan. He understood them, he moved in them easily enough, but he ignored a great deal of stupidity. Becoming Jounin and ANBU would suit his purposes and his purposes alone. His ka-chan had gone to great pains to prevent him and his brother from becoming clan puppets and he would honor her wishes, as was the best of his ability.

Turning on his heel, he moved back towards the compound. Two days ago, he had quietly submitted the paper work for the ANBU exams. The Third had met with him that morning to speak to him about his request and had appeared to be unsurprised by his request to keep the clan unaware of his activities. He had agreed to consider his request after the individual matches of the tournament.

Itachi was unconcerned by the Third's hesitation. There was a higher number of chunin in training for ANBU than was known to the general shinobi population. The training required to pass the exams was rumored to be difficult, but he was looking forward to the challenge.

The chances that Hana and Itsuki both would pass the exams were slim. By taking on the ANBU position he gave himself room to maneuver without the restrictions that a newly appointed chunin who was without his team. He had no intention of being limited to simple B-Rank missions with other chunin he had never worked with before. By transferring himself into ANBU ranks he was assured of A-rank and higher as he progressed and he would have access to other kinds of information.

Orochimaru.

Itachi's eyes narrowed. The Sannin had been too quiet over the past few years. Besides an attempt to attack one of the caravans the village protected, there had been no sign or rumor of the man. Itachi was certain that the Sannin was planning something and being ANBU would give him the resources and the qualifications necessary to make sure he was involved when it came time to deal with it.

Pausing, he turned just as his name was called. Sasuke was pelting down the path, a bag bouncing over his shoulder as he waved. The six year old was grinning widely and covered in dirt. Shaking his head, he braced himself as his brother crashed into his knees before reaching down and lifting him to his shoulders. They would arrive back at the compound quicker if he let Sasuke talk his ear off without the distraction of walking.

Tomorrow he would pass the first round of the exams with his team. After that he would deal with things as they came.

"Aniki, I got to play with Hana's puppies today! One of them even licked me!"

That would explain the mud and fur.

"You didn't try to bring one home, did you? Ka-chan doesn't like dogs in the house."

"Hana said they were too small," Sasuke sounded forlorn and his small feet kicked lightly against his chest. "Do you really think Ka-chan would say no?"

"Yes."

Sasuke sighed. "Hana said I could come play with them whenever I want."

"Next time you should stay out of the mud. Ka-chan will not let you visit if you come home covered in mud again."

"Okay. I'm hungry."

"We'll be home soon."

"Are you sure I can't have a puppy?"

"Sasuke."

He sighed. "I'm still going to ask."

Shaking his head, Itachi was silent. Sasuke would learn soon enough. Bouncing him against his shoulders one more time he reached up and set Sasuke down. "If you hurry, you might be able to rinse off before she sees you."

Grinning, Sasuke pelted up the path. Following at a slower pace, Itachi shoved his hands into his pockets.

A good example.

X

_Present Day  
_Hokage Tower

Sakura was not nervous. Being nervous would be admitting that he had gotten under her skin. He _had not_ gotten under her skin. What he had done was Piss. Her. Off. While the little incident at the practice field had been a somewhat mutual mistake, his stealing her clothing was once again _Uchiha Itachi_ putting his rather nice nose where it didn't belong. She was _not_ nervous, she was _not_ intimidated, and her insides were _not_ filled with butterflies at not knowing how he was going to respond to her today.

Marching down the hall, she kept her expression even. There was simply no way she was going to walk into that library looking the least bit hesitant. She was finished giving him ground he hadn't earned. Squaring her shoulders, she nodded at a familiar face and ignored the way her stomach fluttered as she opened the door to the library. Knowing her luck, he wouldn't even be here yet. Then she would have prepared herself for nothing.

The library was always quiet, but the early mornings hours were almost serene. Later, there would be a faint buzz as the chakra overflow from the rest of the tower seeped under doors and through the walls. The bustle of the town would filter through late afternoon windows and hushed whispers would bounce off bookshelves. But early mornings were still and peaceful, a chance to get an early start on demanding research.

This morning, however, there was almost an expectant feel to the air and she resisted the urge to rake her fingers through her bangs. Steeling herself for whatever he had gotten into his brain this time, Sakura turned to where she could practically feel his gaze; never his chakra. Unless Itachi decided otherwise, no one was ever aware of his presence. At least, not through the common means, his force of presence had very little to do with chakra and everything to do with _him_.

He was holding a scroll, shoulder resting against the wall that held the large window overlooking the courtyard. Long strands of hair fell in a smooth line down his chest, his stance almost too casual. And his eyes. Sakura's mouth went dry at the expression in his eyes. They burned at her, the faintest sparks of red gleaming with intent as he deliberately held her gaze before lowering his perusal down her body.

She could almost feel the way his eyes grazed her body, stomach tightening in a mixture of anticipation and nerves as she watched the slow, dangerous smile curve the edges of his lips upwards. Adrenaline hit her system hard at that look, and her breathing went shallow as he lifted his eyes back to hers, an almost feral expression flooding his eyes red.

Sakura swallowed as he shifted, gliding away from the wall as he put the scroll aside, eyes never leaving her face. His pace as he covered the distance between them was casual, as if he was devouring every expression, ever breath with his eyes. The small, rational part of her brain was busy calculating how effortlessly he seemed to move, while the rest of her was too stunned to do more than gape at him.

She hadn't….

Long calloused fingers brushed up the sides of her neck, thumbs briefly brushing against her chin before tangling behind her ears as he lifted her chin for his kiss. For all the heat and demand in his eyes, his mouth was achingly soft against hers, lips gently coaxing and deliberate as he lightly massaged her scalp with the tips of his fingers. It was by force of will that she managed to keep her fingers at her side, but she couldn't stop the way her body leaned into his hold as he continued his gentle assault.

When he pulled back she had to struggle to think past the way his thumbs were moving behind her ears, his gaze still sharingan bright. Her fingers itched to reach up and tangle themselves into his hair and kiss him in return, to lean into the warm heat that matched the tingles still moving down her spine.

"Good morning, Sakura." His voice held a rumble to it that threatened to curl her toes. "I hope you slept well?"

Sakura stared at him for several long seconds before she pulled the pieces of her thought process together enough to remember she was_ mad at him_. Not even good morning kisses and pretty eyes were going to save him this time. Narrowing her gaze, she straightened her spine and shoved a hand into his stomach.

"Give. Them. Back."

His lashes narrowed so all she could see was a gleam of spinning tomoe. The hands in her hair shifted, sliding to her neck with enough pressure to make her scalp tingle before encircling the back of her neck. Her head was tilted backwards, just enough that his breathe ghosted across her lips and she was forced to meet that half-gaze straight on. He _tsked_, even as his fingers dug lightly into tense muscles, easing a strain she hadn't known she had.

"Manners, Sakura." Those eyes gleamed. "Aren't you going to tell me good morning?"

She growled at him. His mouth curved at the corners but his gaze didn't drop from hers, and she bit the side of her tongue as his fingers shifted along her neck. Two could play at this game.

"I want my shirts _back_, Uchi—"

Her back bumped into the wall behind her, but she barely noticed as his mouth pressed into hers, tongue sliding along the seam of her lips as his hand trailed down her spine and backside before hooking behind her thigh to lift her up against him. She gasped at the reminder of his heat as he pressed against her from thigh to chest. His body was taunt with tension and his mouth firm, but the fingers cupping the back of her head were careful and the strokes of his tongue were deliberate instead of rough. She whimpered.

He pulled back with soft, delicate kisses against her tingling lips and feathered several move across her cheek to her ear. He caught the tip of her ear with his teeth and she shivered in his hold.

"No." He murmured before kissing her temple and lowering her to the ground. The fingers in her hair rubbed for a moment, the look in his eyes soft as he let the sharingan fade, the smile on his face sending her stomach to her ankles.

"_Itachi_, Sakura. Call me _Itachi_." He kissed her nose and turned and headed into the stacks. "The box on the desk is for you."

She gaped at his back as he disappeared into the shelves, her mouth tingling and her knees a little more wobbly than she was comfortable with. He had just kissed her. _Again_. And again, she had done nothing to stop him. And again, he had pulled back and stepped away without… without any problem at all. If it wasn't for the softness in his eyes, she'd say he'd been completely unaffected. More than anything, she wanted to storm up behind him and grab hold of his shoulder, spin him around and… punch him in the face or jump him, she wasn't quite sure.

But she didn't need Sasuke to tell her that either action would just get her lowered onto the table.

She could still feel his hands in her hair and she swallowed several times before pushing up and moving towards her desk. There was a small, white box with no labels that she didn't recognize, and she debated not opening it at all.

She could feel the heat of his stare, and it was making her hackles rise. Muttering curses on the whole Uchiha line, she yanked the chair away from the table and settled down on it, reaching for the scroll she'd marked off yesterday. She was dead set on ignoring that box, even if it killed her.

…the box was very loud for an inanimate object. And Itachi's stare was communicating more exasperated amusement than should be allowed. She wasn't even _looking_ at him, how was it fair that she was picking up on his emotions? Uchiha Itachi wasn't even supposed to _have_ emotions!

He approached the table and leaned over from behind her to place the scroll he had been working on beside her. His shadow was the only thing that touched her, but Sakura still shivered.

"You do realize," Itachi murmured, taking his sweet freaking time to select his next scroll while still leaning over her, "that the longer you hold off, it will make your eventual capitulation all the sweeter," then suddenly his lips were shadowing her ear, "Sa-kur-a."

Sakura gritted her teeth, and then shifted around to glare at his ridiculously amused, ludicrously warm obsidian eyes. "How silly of me, _Uchiha-san_! It looks as if I had completely overlooked your present. I don't know how I could have forgotten."

He knew she was lying. She knew he knew she was lying. That didn't matter. What _did_ matter was the imperceptible twitch in his jaw brought on by her use of his surname and her bright, polite tone.

"I'll have to rectify the situation right away," she continued, pushing the chair back and almost running over his foot. "I don't know where my manners could have gotten to, _Uchiha-san_."

His lashes lowered to partly mask the expression behind his eyes and Sakura turned away to face the little box. Ignoring how his presence was making the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, she mentally debated exactly what this particular Uchiha would think was a good present. Bracing herself for anything, she used her thumb to break the seal on the side and flicked the lid open.

It took her several seconds to process what her eyes were telling her and when she did she stopped breathing. Someone must have told him about her sweet tooth – she and Naruto were _going to have a talk_ – because he had brought her fudge. Not just any fudge, but the kind that was too expensive for her to actually justify splurging except for rare occasions. The kind that was still warm when it was boxed up and crumbled under your fingertips.

She swallowed in an attempt to find the footing she had suddenly and rather unfairly lost. She could feel Itachi's eyes roaming her profile and she was still fumbling for a response when careful fingers brushed her hair behind her ear. Her eyes shot to his and while he was positively radiating satisfaction, his eyes were still too warm for her to be comfortable.

The backs of his knuckles traced her cheek. "You're welcome."

X

Hana was starting to feel a little frustrated. While her conversation with Sasuke had gone well – _a girl_? – she was becoming irritated on how difficult it was to track down Itachi. All his usual haunts were empty and even Shikamaru hadn't seen him in a few days. The fact that he wasn't on the duty lists told her that he wasn't _publicly_ on a mission and Sasuke had been around town, so odds were good that the clan was not taking the opportunity to force him to deal with issues yet. Itachi always found a way to drag his little brother into any disputes he was forced to deal with.

So where was he?

"He'll show up when he does," Shisui said mildly, a dango stick firmly held in hand. "Stop worrying about it."

Hana cut him a look. "I am not worrying."

Itsuki was blissfully silent, starring up at the tree lines his posture suggesting he was bored. At least he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

"Doesn't it bother either of you that we haven't seen him?"

Itsuki shrugged. "This could be one of his little games you know."

Hana waved her hand. "He hasn't shown us what the trap is yet. You know as well as I do he prefers to show you what you are walking into before pushing you into it."

Shisui swallowed. "She has a point."

Hana stole one of his dango sticks. "However, if there is an actual girl…"

"Then good for him, is what I say," Shisui reached over and poured himself some of Hana's drink in retaliation. "It's not natural to go for so long without. When was the last time he's had a woman, anyway, Hana?"

"It's not like I keep count, you moron! Just because the nose knows doesn't mean it's noteworthy enough for me to remember," Hana took a vicious bite of her dango and was somewhat mollified to see Shisui gulp. Of course, the way his eyes followed her throat and downward as she swallowed didn't exactly speak of intimidation…

"And anyway," she said, pointing the dango stick at Shisui, "the point is that this isn't the way Itachi's ever handled any of his other little adventures. Usually he just needs to show up, say a few cryptic things and flaunt his hair and then its wham, bam, thank-you ma'am. He doesn't disappear for days on end in pursuit—none of those women ever held his interest long enough to keep him missing for _days_."

"What are you saying?" Shisui slid a ball off her dango stick and popped it into his mouth. Hana's eyes narrowed.

"I'm _saying_ that _if_ there's a girl," out of the corner of her eye she saw Itsuki slump a little in anticipation of her next words, "we _need_ to find out who it is."

Itsuki slumped further. "Here we go again," he muttered.

"Why do we _need_ to know?" Shisui said. "A man's business is his own"

"Shut-up," Hana said. "You know you want to find out who it is just as bad as me. You just think you'll be able to corner him for details later. Maybe that would have worked before, but I'm telling you his pattern on this one is _different_."

"Why should that matter?" Shisui asked, looking completely unrepentant. "It's Itachi. He could just be trying to throw you off his trail."

Hana jammed the dango stick up against Shisui's jaw. "_Itachi_. _Girl_. _Chase_. That's a combination that has the makings for a lot of trouble and you can't tell me you don't want to be in on it. And he doesn't know we are looking for him or he would have already showed up to taunt us with the information. You know that. Stop acting like Yamanaka."

"The cute girl in the flower shop?"

Before Hana could respond, Itsuki stood. "He's at the sushi shop."

Hana stood and calmly slapped the back of Shisui's head. He reached up to rub it and made a face. "That was uncalled for."

"Then next time dodge it." Hana shot back, stalking off ahead of the boys. There was really only one sushi place that Itachi ever went to. Thankfully it was close so if they hurried they could corner him as he was leaving.

This was exactly when they caught up. He was opening the door, his expression carefully neutral and he nodded at someone who was inside. Hana stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of him. It wasn't that he was being polite; Uchiha Mikoto had made sure that when it suited his fancy Itachi could be very polite, it was the two carefully wrapped lunch bento in his hands that startled her. He could have been picking up lunch for his mother, for Sasuke, for anyone but…

A girl…

"Well, look at that, Hana!" Shisui called loudly. "Just the man we were looking for. And here you thought he'd died."

Itachi, the bastard, didn't even twitch. Hana rolled her eyes. Of course not. It wasn't _subtle_ enough. She prowled forward, noting that Itsuki had automatically fallen into a flanking position. Deny it as he might, the Aburame was just as interested in tormenting their erstwhile teammate. Itachi had _no_ idea what it was like being on a team with himself, and Hana was smug with the knowledge that she had done them all a favor by spearheading this little mission. "Whatcha got there, I-ta-chi?"

Itachi quirked an eyebrow in that _way_ of his which Shisui immediately stepped in to translate, outpacing her and shoving his face down close to the wrapped boxes Itachi carried. "Now, Hana, where are your observational skills? _Clearly_, what Itachi is carrying here is lunch. And not just one lunch," he continued with a grin, risking at _least_ a broken bone by throwing his arm around Itachi's shoulders, "but _two_ lunches."

Itachi tensed for half a precious, precious second before settling his posture into that dangerous smoothness which Hana recognized oh-so-well. Time to attack from a different front. She crossed her arms, leaned in, and purred, "I heard the most _interesting_ rumor the other day, Itachi-_san_. Aren't you curious?"

Itachi's eyes met hers in a flat stare.

Shisui removed his arm from around Itachi's shoulders and used the distraction of Itsuki speaking to snatch a box out of Itachi's hands. "Of course he's curious, Hana," Itsuki said. "The first duty of a shinobi is to gather information."

Shisui flipped opened the box and started poking around, "Ooo, how cute! This one's rolled up like a sea shell!"

Itachi's eyes flickered back to Shisui and Hana struck, moving closer to divert his attention, "_I_ heard that you had been taken off of active duty. So of course I looked forward to one of our little reunions."

Itachi's gaze had returned to her as a more immediate threat, and he gave a scornful snort at her words. Hana continued, unfazed. "Imagine my _concern_ when one, two, three days past without any of your special surprises! But then a little bird landed on my shoulder, and can you imagine what it told me?"

Hana waited a beat. She'd laid out the bait as best as she knew how – let's see just how far he was willing to play.

"And what was that?" Itachi's voice was flat and monotonous, not a flicker of interest appearing in his face or form.

A feral grin lit Hana's face. She got a response! She had him now. She stepped closer and poked his arm with each emphasized word. "_I_ heard that _you_, the _great_ Uchiha Itachi…were chasing a _girl_."

Folding her arms under her chest again, Hana watched his face closely, waiting for his telling response.

Itachi quirked that brow again, "You were expecting I'd be chasing a boy?"

Shisui made a strangling noise and Itsuki sighed.

Hana was unfazed. She got a response; now all she needed to do was continue. Be aggressive! "So it's true then? You're actually _chasing_ someone? There's a _girl_ alive who's giving you a hard time?"

Itachi's expression remained flat but there was something about the angle of his eyes told Hana that he was sizing the situation up. Nothing about his body changed but there was a feeling in the air like anticipation.

"That's what has you so worked up?" The cool note in his voice was almost scornful.

Shisui, recognizing the situation as clearly as Hana did, looked up with a smile as wide and brilliant as her own. "You've been holding out on us! She _must_ be something if you're taking her sushi… not just any sushi, but _pretty_ sushi!"

Itachi's eyes flickered over to Shisui and he held out his hand for the box. The silent demand held an unspoken threat and Shisui snapped the lid back into place with his smile in place.

"Late for a date?"

"Curious?"

The game shifted suddenly and Hana bit down on a scowl, keeping her smile firmly in place from many years of practice. That single, well placed word put him back on even footing and gave him the chance to reclaim the lead in their little game. He was offering them his trap.

Itsuki recognized it too. He stepped forward and shoved his hands in his pockets, "You never hid an object of your interest from us before, Itachi. Why is this one so special?"

Subtle. Aggressive. Perfect. When he chose to play, Aburame could keep pace with the best. Hana's grin stretched wider.

Itachi's gaze shifted from Itsuki to Hana and back to Shisui. A smug smile curled his lips. "Haruno Sakura interests me. I didn't mean to make you feel neglected in light of that fact."

Stunned silence fell on them. Just like Itachi to sneak in another blow while they were still reeling from the first one – Hana wasn't sure what to respond to first. The fact that there _was_ a girl, the easy way he'd offered up the name, _who_ the girl _was_, or the fact that Itachi implied that they felt _neglected_.

Shisui recovered first. "_Haruno Sakura_? The Hokage's Apprentice? Whoa, Itachi, what are you thinking? There are some girls you don't sniff around for a fling. Like the kind who can put you through a tree."

Hana's eyes widened. What was he trying to do, get Itachi to throw the girl down now?

Itachi responded before she had a chance to interject, and his grin was feral, his voice that smooth cadence which promised violence. "I am well aware who she is, Shisui."

There would be time to process this later. She actually _liked_ Haruno. But this wasn't the time to think of that. Hana grinned and placed her hands on her hips, "So, the little medic caught your attention? How long has _this_ been going on, Itachi?"

Breaking from pattern, Itsuki interjected his own question before getting any noticeable response from Itachi. "You're messing around with your little brother's teammate?"

From the way Itachi's eyes immediately cut to Itsuki and one hand involuntarily clenched, Hana scented blood. Oh, sometimes she _loved_ that creepy bug man. Even better, now she understood the reason why Sasuke had looked so uncomfortable when they asked him about his brother and the careful, deliberate way he had kicked Naruto.

She would have to pay him back for that later.

"Does Sasuke know about this?" Hana knew her smile was stretching off her face. "I hear he and the blond brat are very protective."

The subtle suggestion that he might not be up to dealing with Haruno's protective teammates had Itachi's form loosening into a casual sort of grace that promised retribution but she didn't care.

Shisui snorted. "Forget her teammates!" He lifted a finger and waved it under Itachi's nose. "So this is why you've been sneaking out and going around town? The cute little apprentice! I can't believe it! Did you see what she did to me? She could freeze your balls, man."

The feral smile tilted a little higher at the corners. "That would not be in her best interest."

Hana snorted before she could stop herself. "And what does Sasuke has to say about this?"

Itachi's eyes cut to her and he frosted over, pulling that impassive regal look unique to clan heirs. "This is not his concern. Neither is it yours. This matter is strictly between Sakura and myself." His smile was not at all pleasant as he took the box from Shisui's hands, "And as you have already noted, I am late for my date."

He stepped forward, walking between her and Itsuki with all the calm predisposition of a man who had all the time in the world. He left them stunned and staring at each other as they walked away.

"Well," Shisui said after a moment. "That was more than we'd expected."

Itsuki's eyes met Hana's. "Don't say it," he said.

But Hana was grinning. "Well, it looks like we know who we need to visit next."

Itsuki groaned.

"Haruno Sakura," Hana finished with relish.

X

Sakura picked up a pickle with her chopsticks and frowned down at the scroll in front of her. To her surprise, Itachi had volunteered himself to go and track down lunch. Instead of coming back with the fake food they served in the cafeteria, he had brought back small white take out boxes from the stand down the road that made excellent sushi. There had been the most curious expression on his face but she didn't dare ask.

Anything that gave Uchiha Itachi that faintly smug expression mingled with what might have been sadistic amusement gave her cold chills and she didn't want to be involved. Either by accident or association. So instead she had shoved a box of scrolls at him, thanked him politely for her lunch, shoved some coin at him to cover the expense and settled in for some more heavy reading.

With the occasionally pause to enjoy her lunch and the excellent tea he had procured from somewhere. No way did he find tea of any quality in this tower.

Picking up another piece of food, she considered the complex chart explaining theories behind blood applications to jutsu. It was similar enough to the medical and summoning charts she had been forced to memorize after her chunin exams that she was comfortable with it, but there were some possibilities here she hadn't considered.

"Have you worked with any blood jutsu?"

"Some." Itachi said, looking up. After several hours of little to no conversation, having his intensity suddenly redirected at her was jarring. "Have you found something?"

"Perhaps." Sakura said carefully. She tapped her bottom lip with the end of her chopstick, mulling over the idea. "I haven't worked with a lot of communication jutsu or genjutsu that required blood."

"Hmm. Communication jutsu that require blood are tricky." Itachi said as he laced his fingers together, studying her from behind his ridiculous lashes. "I haven't found much use for them. As for genjutsu, blood simply allows a caster to either boost their lack of skill or narrow their target down to a single individual if they are unable to do so. There are obvious problems with both."

Sakura nodded, mulling over that. Genjutsu was effective because of how quickly they could be used to ensnare an opponent. Blood required either advanced planning or enough chakra to pull a complicated genjutsu in the middle of a fight.

"What are you thinking?"

Sakura motioned at the scroll with her chopsticks. "We use blood jutsu in the hospital in severe cases. It helps us bind the patient to our seals. If they were using this ring as – at the very least – a communication device, would it make sense to bind each individual to their ring via blood? How would they transfer the ring to the newest member?"

"Orochimaru still possesses his ring," there was a bite in his voice as he said the Sannin's name and Sakura had to repress a shiver. "From what I understand, he has yet to be replaced by the Akatsuki."

"Hmm." Sakura mulled over that.

Itachi studied her with intent eyes. "Odds are that Orochimaru had to do a body switch when he deserted. Anything with a willing blood binding is permanent and an unwilling binding is extremely difficult to counter."

Sakura frowned. "Does the sort of jutsu required for a cursed seal and a body switch require blood?"

"Yes." He agreed, eyes gleaming with approval. "Kabuto would have planned for that."

Sakura's eyes narrowed at the mention of the mednin and her fingers tightened around her chopsticks. "Yes, I suppose he would have."

Amusement colored Itachi's eyes for a moment before he reached for another scroll. "If there was a seal involved, we will need to question Jiraiya."

"He would also be able to tell us if Orochimaru swapped bodies after his desertion." Sakura pointed out. "We have to assume that the ring is part of the communication between the Akatsuki. They are too scattered except when stealing a bijuu and if they used the normal means of communication someone would have intercepted the coded information by now."

Itachi was silent. "That is possible. It would be safe to suggest that the rings are one form of communication between them without further investigation."

Sakura nodded. "Yes. If the rings are blood bound and Orochimaru swapped bodies it may be that he is unable to use it for anything other than spite."

Itachi eyes sharpened and the edges of his lip curled into something sharp. "Yes. Of that we can be assured."

Sakura had to bite her tongue to keep from asking the obvious question. There was an expectant look to his expression but her gut told her he wouldn't answer the question even if she asked. His information gathering on Orochimaru was sealed heavily (She knew. She had tried to peek once.) so odds that he was at liberty to tell her anything were low. Best to ask Tsunade when she had the chance.

"Jiraiya is at least three days from the village." Sakura said with a sigh. "It's going to take at least a week for him to return if we send a runner."

Itachi smile widened. "Leave that to me."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Curious?"

She laced her fingers together and watched him warily. "It's your turn to report to Tsunade. I talked to her while you were off collecting lunch."

His eyes seemed to gleam at her before he started placing scrolls back into their proper boxes. "Yes. I suppose it is."

She eyed him for another moment before glancing out the window. Their late lunch had been a much needed break but they had been cooped up inside for some time. Well, at least she had. While she could spend all day memorizing medical scrolls, this sort of research was tedious and time consuming. Pursing her lips, she considered the scrolls she had filled with notes and small, quick ideas about possible leads to follow. With Jiraiya coming it would be useless to chase unnecessary areas of information. Once they were pointed in a better direction, they could concentrate their efforts back on the scrolls.

A shame Tsunade had banned her from the hospital. She could have put in some work this afternoon. Reaching over, she helped Itachi carefully roll up scrolls and clean up their workspace.

"I'll check archives later and see if there is anything else we might have missed about blood jutsu." Sakura said she wrapped up the last scroll.

Itachi was silent for a moment before he nodded. "It is unlikely that my family's archives will have information on this subject that the tower does not. However, I will see what I can find."

Sakura hefted a box of scrolls. "That's a good idea. I'm probably going to be digging through a lot of medical scrolls, so if you find anything, I'll be in the archives."

"I shall look for you there."

Sakura nodded and headed for the doors. It was nice for once working with someone who had the inclination towards research but working alone was even better. Digging through old medical scrolls was a comfortable pass time and not having the Uchiha at her shoulder would make things work faster.

Maybe if she was lucky he would get sucked into his clan's library and never come out. Amused at the idea, she hefted the scrolls a little higher against her hip and headed to Tsunade's office. She would let Itachi deal with the report, but it never hurt to let her Sensei know when she was poking her nose into the archives.

* * *

Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed!


	12. The Art of War

And here we are! Once again, we would like to thank everyone who reviewed for the last chapter. We are always so floored by the responses each week! We hope that everyone enjoys this week chapter, as things are starting to move along for our couple! As always, we will continue to attempt our weekly updates, but as it is summer, things may or may not get in the way. We will try to keep you updated when such events occur!

Thanks again!

Just Enough

* * *

___11 Years Ago  
_Konoha Training Grounds

Tsunade was a practical teacher. For the second time in her life Sakura found herself being judged by how well she could control her chakra and not by how much she had. Gai and Lee's frantic teachings had prepared her a little for what she was learning, but some nights she would sit at her parent's dinner table and watch her hands shake. The first two months had been almost brutal applications of her chakra in fine, precise exercises and Tsunade had demanded perfection. She ate, breathed, and thought in chakra patterns and equations and dreamed in possible applications and angles.

Her fourth month had landed her directly in the emergency ward. The first time she had assisted in reassembling someone's internal organs she had quietly excused herself once the procedure was over and threw up her breakfast. Chakra was cleaner and healthier than the civilian idea of scalpels and cuts, but it left the air smelling like superheated air, blood and faintly cooked meat.

By the time she was deemed to have enough control to deal with veins and bleeding while Shizune rearranged muscle connections and tendons her hands had stopped shaking. The first time she managed to reconnect the fine tissue of a separated shoulder without flinching, managed to grimly find every sliver of a shatter bone and realign it with Tsunade's careful supervision, she had almost forgotten what life was like when she wasn't removing blood stains from under her nails and always, always working to perfect the control she already had.

Then Tsunade decided it was time to really begin her training. Every morning from half an hour past dawn till lunch she and Tsunade would go out to the practice fields and spar. The taijutsu Lee had been drilling into her reflexes and his strengthening exercises served her well, because Tsunade carried an edge Sakura hadn't had directed at her before. She taught tactics, positioning and drilled her over and over in the importance of dodging. Where Kakashi has taught her how to see underneath the underneath, Tsunade was teaching her how to cause the most damage with the least amount of effort.

"It's important that you know your limitations. How much damage you can afford to take before you have to pull out of a fight; how much time you need for each procedure; how much chakra you need to maintain your basic functions. When you're on the field you're the only shinobi standing between your teammates and death, they can stand between you and danger."

"But… what happens when they can't."

Tsunade curled her fingers into a fist and drove it into a tree so that it shattered into a million splinters. "Then you remove the problem. What you must understand _right now_ Sakura is that you are the last safety valve. You either commit to the fight or the healing. Very few mednin are strong enough to do both."

Sakura curled her own fists. "I want to."

Tsunade lifted a brow and crossed her arms. "You want to what?"

"Be both. I want to be good enough to be both."

"Did you think I would have taken on an apprentice who didn't? Now, show me the fifth chakra exercise perfectly while reciting all field operating procedures for genjutsu recovery."

"Yes, sensei!"

So she ducked and punched and forced herself past her own limitations. She carried Tsunade' words with her as she learned how to crush boulders into splinters without shattering her own knuckles. As she stood over hospital beds and poured chakra into her hands; she repeated those words to herself at night before she went to bed. When her head ached from too many terms, her eyes burned from too much reading and her body shook from exertion and not enough chakra she mouthed her mantra over and over and over.

Very few mednin were strong enough to carry their teammates on their backs as a fighter and a healer, but she would be. She was tired of being left behind and she would be strong enough to be not just a healer, but also a teammate.

_She would be. _

X

___Present Day  
_Konoha _Village  
_

Sakura breathed deeply of the late morning air. It was wonderful to be outside in the sunshine after spending the last two days hip deep in the archives or in her office digging through medical scrolls. Today she was with her boys and the world was great. Cracking an eye open, she glared at the body attached to the hand that was ruffling her hair.

"Naruto?"

"Yes?"

"Do you _like_ your fingers?"

He grinned at her and ruffled her hair one more time for good measure. Sakura gave him a warning look before adjusting the familiar weight of her headband and then punched him in the arm.

"Ouch. I thought there was a no hitting rule until we got to the grounds?"

"Sissy."

Sasuke ignored them, walking ahead with tight shoulders. Tapping Naruto, she jerked her head towards their cranky teammate. Naruto blinked and then rolled his eyes.

'Clan shit.' He mouthed.

Sakura nodded, forcing the sudden urge to growl down. She already knew that. Sasuke's stupid, arrogant, _infuriating_ brother had once again broken into her apartment. This time to _tape_ a _note_ to her bathroom mirror explaining his absence and then he'd had the nerve to chastise her traps. _Again_. There were some days she cursed whatever kami had been bored the day she and Itachi met.

Still, the last two days had been blissfully Uchiha free. There wasn't much to do as they waited for Jiraiya to show up and examine the possibility of seals used in the ring. Instead of pouring through scrolls looking for information they wouldn't need, she had spent the day catching up on medical scrolls and now today she was training with her boys.

Just because she hadn't seen him, though, didn't mean he'd been far from her thoughts. Somehow that Uchiha had managed to worm his way into her brain and she couldn't help but double-check the shadows for him wherever she went. She didn't _miss_ him, certainly not; it was a relief to have a few days to breathe without his overwhelming presence.

Whatever work he might have accomplished seemed to have been interrupted by some clan issue that had escalated to the point that even Sasuke had been dragged in. From what Sakura understood, Fugaku was more interested in his first son's opinions than he had ever been of his second's. Which meant Sasuke was really going to need to hit something. Nodding at Naruto, she reached for her gloves.

"Full contact today, Sasuke?"

He paused, tilting his head as he considered her words. "Yes."

"Alright!" Naruto said as they finally entered the clearing. "I'm going to kick both your asses!"

Sakura lifted a brow, pulling her gloves onto her fingers and making a fist to check the fit. The gloves were new and she wanted to break them in before she had to go on a mission.

"Is that so?" Sasuke said mildly, eyes bleeding red.

Adrenaline surged through her gut. This wasn't a fight against Lee who could only use his speed against her. Sasuke and Naruto were dangerous in ways she doubted very many actually realized. Their strengths ran to her weaknesses and vice versa and pitting herself against them never failed to teach her something new. Sparring matches like these always left at least one or two broken bones and gashes that would have needed stitches if she weren't a mednin.

Naruto smirked, fingers sliding into a familiar jutsu. Sakura flickered her eyes to Sasuke who nodded, and she lunged. Naruto jerked back as Sakura threw a kunai at him, eyes narrowed in concentration. He regained his balance and finished his jutsu, sending to _kage bushin_ to deal with Sasuke, while he fought with her.

Reaching down to yank out another kunai, she rolled away from the shuriken that Naruto threw at her. He followed that up with a series of taijutsu moves quick enough to prove he had been practicing.

He wasn't Lee.

Sakura dodged Naruto's punch and drove her kunai forward. He flung himself hard to the left – and straight into Sasuke who came at him with nasty combination of kicks and punches. Naruto swore as he spun. His eyes widened when he realized Sasuke had driven him right into her. Her fist hit his jaw in a crunch of bone hitting bone.

"Too slow Naruto." Sasuke snapped, dropping into a defensive crouch, eyes spinning. "She would have taken your head off if she had used chakra."

Naruto picked himself off the ground. "When did this become pick on Naruto day?"

"Sissy," Sakura growled. "You run your mouth, you better back it up."

Naruto's hands slide into a familiar pattern. Sakura swore and danced backwards to put some room between herself and his clones. Sasuke's sharingan snapped into the third level and he pulled out a shuriken.

"Whatever," Naruto said cheerfully. "Let's see how well _you_ dodge, Sakura-chan."

Naruto was fast but it was Sasuke she was worried about. Out of the two, he was the one who could eat the space between them before she had time to pinpoint him. Time to make some space. Skidding to a stop, she drove her fist into the ground, letting it tear up the earth to take away Naruto's footing. Rolling to one side, she kept one eye Sasuke and the other on Naruto.

"We are _not_ going to play Who Can Hit the Mednin." Sakura warned them, sliding in a basic taijutsu form. Naruto's eyes gleamed at her and she was careful not to look too closely at Sasuke. He was fully capable of pulling her into a low level genjutsu to distract her and breaking it would waste chakra she would need for her own attacks.

She couldn't afford to wait. All one of them needed was to land one good hit, and it would be over. It was time to see if she really had improved her speed. Charging at Naruto with full speed, he met her assault with a glad cry, which changed to an indignant 'Hey,' when she blurred, flipped, and landed behind Sasuke.

Her fingers flew through the signs even as Sasuke whirled. Setting a genjutsu was difficult when facing this particular level of the sharingan, so she didn't set it on him. Instead, she left it hanging in the air between them as she rolled away from Sasuke's favorite ninjutsu. She could feel Naruto closing on her and she snapped her wrist out, letting half a dozen senbon fly. The faint popping of clones being destroyed as she landed on her feet had her shifting her weight quickly to the side and a blonde body rushed by her.

Slamming a fist into the ground beside her, it was just enough force to make the ground tremor, shaking Naruto from his path without opening up a chasm. She jumped up, intending to follow through and press the advantage, but found herself dodging the kunai Naruto had thrown instead.

Then Sasuke was there, attempting to take advantage of her being off balance. She blocked his strike and pushed her weight into her fist, not wanting to use chakra in such close hand-to-hand maneuvers. Her basics were better but he had strength and speed helping him along. Her hands burned and she dropped under his punch to activate the genjutsu she had set earlier. It only took him seconds to catch himself but by then she had shoved a foot into his gut and thrown herself out of his reach. The hum of kunai whistled by her ear and she flickered.

It did her little good as Naruto followed the move and her arm stung with the promise of a cut. Naruto's grin was wolfish and she flung a chakra-enhanced elbow at his jaw and spun through the move. She felt her arm graze Naruto's chest and he swore as he was thrown backwards, coughing heavily. Kunai whistled through the air and she felt more than saw the heat of fire behind her. Using chakra to enhance her jump, she cleared enough ground to take several deep breaths before she had to slide back into a defensive position.

"Got you Sakura-chan!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I got you worse."

Sasuke snorted. "I could have killed you both."

"You Uchihas. Always have to win," Sakura teased.

"That's right," came a voice from behind her.

That wasn't Sasuke.

There was a hand on her shoulder, by her neck and it wasn't Sasuke's either. Naruto dropped down into a crouch, and Itachi, _blast him_, flicked a finger. Naruto froze. Genjutsu. With a finger.

Then things blurred and all she had time to see was Sasuke's wide sharingan eyes staring at him in disbelief as she felt herself transported. The world spun around the edges and she would have staggered when it stopped if not for the hand holding her steady. Wide eyes took in the sight of trees that were tall and untouched as the fingers at her neck lowered, slowly tracing down the bumps of her spine. The adrenaline pumping through her veins gave her speed as she twisted around, fist colliding with his palm as she faced him.

His eyes were wide at the edges; gleaming with something wild and _hot_ and she had just enough temper surging in her veins to ignore it. To ignore the way his eyes slid over her face and down her neck, slowly lowering over her chest and lingering on the cut on her arm that had stained her shirt. Her heart was hammering in her chest when his eyes finally lifted to hers and she bared her teeth.

"What the hell did you do to Naruto?"

His answer smile was slow and sharp. "I would be more worried about what I plan to do with you, _Sa-ku-ra_."

Her wrist twisted sharply towards his thumb, breaking his hold. There was an edge to his expression, an angle to his jaw that she hadn't seen before. It invited her to bite back, to tangle herself in whatever game he was playing. Part of her was screaming to calm down, to demand to go back. The rest of her was running on adrenaline and fight and wanted to punch that look right off his face.

Shifting her stance, she narrowed her eyes. "Go to hell, _Uchiha-san_."

His smile showed too many teeth and his eyes were bleeding red. Slowly. As if he was savoring the familiar change. Her gloves creaked as she tightened them and she shifted her stance, part of her brain calculating angles and maneuvers. Began sifting through his known jutsu and her heart was hammering in her chest. The air was heavy with chakra and she parted her lips to breath. His gaze sharpened at that one move and the only warning she had was the faint quirk to the corner of his lips.

She ducked. The air above her hummed, she didn't waste time thinking. Her palm slapped the ground. Shards of earth shot into the air. She didn't expect that to slow him down. Twisting she let the trunk of the tree protect her back while she twisted her wrist in a familiar motion.

The earth shaking might not have made him hesitate, but shoving a tree at him would. Sakura shoved her hand into the tree and grabbed hold, establishing a grip. Then she pulled up with the precise application of chakra and the tree tore free from the ground, snapping roots and splattering dirt as she lifted.

Moving with chakra enhanced speed while carrying a large object took more concentrated effort, but it was worth every minute of practice when she blurred and landed behind Itachi.

He turned in time, of course, and leaped free, but the look of shock on his face made her consider the attack a success. How many people got to see that look on Itachi's face and live?

Itachi landed lightly in a crouch on a tree outside of her immediate swinging distance. For a moment, he just stared at her. Then he shook his head, a smile—no, not a smile, a grin, a genuine gleeful grin, stretching his lips.

Sakura felt her heart stop. "What's the matter," she taunted in an effort to shove down her attraction, "no one ever swing a tree at you before?"

He threw back his head and _laughed_. The sound filled the clearing, full and free, and it really didn't do anything to help with her stopped heart. "Oh, _Sakura_."

She should be moving forward, she should be launching some sort of plan, but all Sakura could do was stand there with her eyes locked in his and her blood surging in her veins and feel… and feel _appreciated_ in a way she never had before.

Then his hands blurred in a familiar jutsu and fire roared out of his mouth and Sakura leapt free of her suddenly very crispy tree. That was all right. They were in a forest. It shouldn't be too hard to find another one. Speaking of which…

"Where the hell are we, _Uchiha-san_?"

"Curious, Sakura?" he called, fingers blurring. Sakura hurled a kunai at him and he flickered. Jumping up, she placed her hand along a tree and twisted so that she was upside down, feet holding her in place. Pushing herself up, she ran backwards to avoid the strings that wrapped around the tree trunk below her. Settling on a branch, she scanned the area, letting the tree guard her back.

The back of her neck tingled and she dropped from the tree, skidding lightly before dropping into a roll. Her fingers flew through the replacement jutsu and she moved just before he hit it. A faint smile was tugging at his lips as the clone dissipated. Normally she would have left a charged tag to greet him but she wasn't willing to bring explosives into this. Not yet.

"I don't like surprises, Uchiha-san," she reminded him as she blocked his return attack. His eyes narrowed and she twisted, throwing a punch she fully expected him to dodge. He did so, but the tree behind him shattered. Using the explosion as a distraction, she swung her leg out to take his feet. He avoided it, but it gave her the chance she needed to get some space to think.

Trees. He wouldn't take her outside of the gates just to spar. It wasn't crafty enough. Too many other people could be around and if his reactions to her spar with Lee, and again with Naruto and Sasuke, said anything he didn't like to share. The pieces clicked into place and she bit back a curse as she slapped away the kunai he had thrown at her.

"What the hell did you do to Shikamaru?"

Unholy glee lit his eyes and he attacked her with an elegant combination it was all she could do to block. Finally, he cornered her against the tree and breathed his answer, "Nothing. He simply found it too _troublesome _to refuse my request."

She was going to kill him. Both hims.

Sakura kicked her heal back and shattered the tree behind her, using the impact to jump free.

She landed several feet away and scanned around for Itachi. He had disappeared. Sakura bit off a curse and considered going underground.

The whistle of a kunai caught her attention and she quickly dodged, turning to locate the source.

Which was exactly what he had been counting on, _damn_ _him_, she thought as she was pulled into red spinning eyes. The world dropped away and Sakura found herself surrounded in black.

The darkness pressed in around her and she could _feel_ the black pressing into her skin, pressing, pressing into her, into her ears so she couldn't hear and onto her eyes—open, closed, it made no difference, she was deaf and blind and couldn't even feel the slightest hint of wind. She couldn't move her body. She knew if she opened her mouth to scream, the black would press in there as well, and swallow the noise, swallow her, in its all-consuming nothingness.

Sakura felt an instinctive surge of panic before coming to herself. Oh, but he was _good_ at this. But it wasn't real; she wasn't _really_ trapped, senseless in the dark. She was standing in the Nara forest, brought there by the most _irritating_ man she had ever met, and she had meet a few in her time, who was probably out there smirking at how easily he had caught her.

The anger at that thought fueled her break from Itachi's false reality, and Sakura focused her chakra like a scalpel, envisioning it tearing the darkness out from the inside. "KAI," she forced through clenched teeth, into the dark.

And it shattered and faded, lifting up from her like crows and leaving her starting into Itachi's burning pinwheel eyes.

She tensed, but refused to look away. She had never allowed herself to be intimidated by the sharingan. Not by Kakashi's, not by Sasuke's. She would not allow herself to be intimidated by Itachi's. Keeping his stare, Sakura moistened her lips and shifted, slowly into a crouch, her fingers just barely brushing the ground between her spread legs, her other hand spread out to the side.

One hint and she'd rush him.

He dropped his gaze from her eyes, and slowly, starting with the tips of her toes, raked her with his gaze. She felt his stare somewhere on her throat and watched with heart-pounding fascination as the tip of his tongue escaped his mouth and he licked his lips.

His eyes were on her lips, and he shuddered, a hand clenching into a fist at his side, before bringing his gaze to meet hers again. He held her eyes, his own still burning red, before a slow smile curved his lips. Just as slowly, Itachi let the sharingan fade.

He held out a hand to her, "Come."

She narrowed her eyes. She could accuse him of luring her into a trap, but he hadn't fought her without the sharingan and somehow it felt like he would be violating… _something_. She wasn't willing to admit to anything between them beyond physical attraction. She didn't particularly want to take his hand, either, but there was a faint challenge in his eyes. If she didn't take it, she _would_ be admitting that he got under her skin. If she did take it, she would be playing his game.

Best to make of it what she could then.

Letting a sigh slide between her teeth, she settled her hand in his and let him pull her up.

"Manners, Uchiha-san."

His fingers twisted, lacing between hers. His lashes lowered to hide his expression before he tugged her against his side and started to walk.

"I believe I am being very polite, _Sakura_." His voice caressed her name.

"Yes," Sakura drawled. "Kidnapping is so _polite_." She put a bite in her tone and he stilled for just a moment. Then his fingers tugged her forward and she found herself pressed against his side. He released her hand in favor of her hip and his breath was hot against her ear.

"Do not tempt me, Sakura." His tone was gentle. "At least, not _yet_."

She told herself she would have elbowed him, but he had pinned her arm against his side. The muscles of his arm flexed against her back and side as he squeezed her hip lightly before he started walking again. He was warm and his hair tickled her neck. The entire situation would have been almost nice if she had been with someone a little less dangerous to her sanity.

"Where are we going now?" She wasn't distracting herself. She just wanted to know why they were still in the forest after their spar was clearly over. His chin brushed the top of her head and she slid her tongue between her teeth at the gesture. Either he was completely unconcerned about how vulnerable he was right then or he was deliberately letting her under his guard. She didn't want to think why the idea made her heart race.

"Certain matters have… caused me to neglect you more than I deem acceptable." The hand on her hip slid up towards her waist and then back down. It stayed perfectly within the bounds of acceptable, polite contact; it was the slowness of the caress and the accompanying heat that spread through her which made Sakura catch her breath.

"And so," he continued, taking the opportunity to lean closer to her as they approached a fallen log, "I have taken this afternoon to _rectify_ the situation."

He released her only to step over the log first. Turning with a smile that _dared_ her to say something he placed both hands on her waist and lifted her over the log, settling her back at his side and sliding an arm back around her back as lightly and easily as you please.

Sakura ignored it. Part of her was tempted to break (to try to break, anyway) his wrists for doing something she so easily could have done herself, and the other had melted away into a disgusting puddle of girlish goo. It wasn't patronizing, Itachi knew _damn well_ she was more than capable of picking up that log and beating someone (namely him) to death with it, but he had still chosen to go out of his way and lift her over the obstacle. It was more… chivalrous and teasing than anything, and Sakura simply did not know what to make of it. So she ignored it.

Biting off the 'Actually, I rather enjoyed the space,' which she was _sure_ he would misconstrue as a challenge instead of kami's honest truth, she chose a different method of attack, "In the _Nara Forest_?"

"Less interruptions that way," Itachi returned blandly.

She'd say so. No one could get into the Nara forest without permission. The fact that he'd brought them there…

She glanced up at him from under her lashes and was hardly surprised to find him watching her in return, his expression relaxed and open. The edges of his mouth had deepened with the suggestion of a smile and she could just tell he was waiting for her to say something.

"I still want to know what you did with Shikamaru."

He chuckled low in the back of his throat, palm squeezing her hip. Sakura stomped on the urge to lean a little closer and feel the way his body vibrated with his amusement. It was entirely unfair how easily he made everything he did so damn _attractive_.

His eyes gleamed when his gaze met hers again. She knew he was aware that her question about Shikamaru was an attempt to avoid exactly what the connotations of his statements were. The ideas that he had deliberately planned this out and that he enjoyed spending time with her were not ones she needed to examine while he was close enough that she could feel his hand on her hip and his warmth at her side. Where it would only take a flex of muscle to tangle her fingers in his hair and lean against him while they walked. Before she could find a way to distract herself – and _him_ – from the way her heart was pounding he looked up and the edges of his lips curled. Sakura followed his gaze and blinked several times at the setting in front of her.

The Nara Forest was thick, dense with trees and from what she had gleaned from conversations with Shikamaru the closer to the heart of the forest you traveled the darker it became. Here though, she was left wondering how deep and what side of the forest they were on, exactly. There was a break in the trees and an outcropping of rocks covered in moss and grass. Set on top of one of the rocks was a pack and next to it was what looked like a blanket.

She stared blankly at the setting before her. Her brain's processing skills were deliberately skirting around exactly what this was. Breathing deeply, she glanced back up at Itachi. He was watching her from under his lashes, lips curving into a smile that threatened to make her toes curl.

Surely this wasn't…

"I trust you're hungry?"

She gaped at him. The smile on his face widened and she could only blink stupidly as he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, eyes warm and amused before turning away towards the pack. By the time he had spread the blanket and set the pack down, kneeling as he began pulling out wooden containers she had pulled her brain back together enough to feel indignant.

"_U-chi-ha-san_! What is this?" She managed to get the words out between her teeth but it took work.

Itachi's eyes lifted to her face and they burned long enough for the hairs on the back of her neck to rise. His hands never stopped moving and he made a point to pull out the last box before speaking.

"A picnic, Sakura. I didn't think you were blind as well as obdurate." His tone was mild but there was a silky tone she hadn't heard before.

What was this man's problem? Lowering her lashes, she carefully kept her eyes on him as he settled himself into a cross-legged position.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean, Uchiha-san." Sakura demurred, flicking her fingers out in a careless gesture. "Why a picnic?"

His eyes narrowed as he flicked the lid off of the first box. "I believe I have politely requested you call me Itachi, Sakura."

"I'm sorry, I don't take requests – are those your mother's rice balls?"

He settled his elbow on his thigh to brace his chin as he watched her from under his entirely too long lashes, a slow smile curving along his lips. "Would you care to join me, Sakura?"

Sakura's heart hammered in her ears. His posture was relaxed, his free hand dangling from his leg as he watched her. Everything about his body was inviting her closer, to lean against him, to enjoy the heat of his body and to let him feed her lunch. This was far more dangerous than lifting her over the log.

Those _were_ his mother's rice balls. She could tell by the smell. Damn him.

Fine. She'd eat his stupid picnic. But she didn't have to sit by him to do it. Making her way over to the corner opposite Itachi, Sakura sat down and folded her legs underneath her. Secure in the distance between them, she moved to investigate.

She didn't even see his hand move before it had caught hold of her wrist. Her "Can I _help you_—" 'Uchiha_-san'_ was cut off before she could get to his name by the burning look in his eyes. Sakura felt her breath catch.

"I am… curious about something," Itachi murmured. His eyes flickered down to her hand, then up to her lips before meeting her eyes again. "Indulge me in this."

And she really didn't have much choice in the matter, because she couldn't seem to work up enough moisture in her mouth to say anything. Not that she knew what she was going to say in the first place and then his fingers had worked their way under the edge of her glove and he was peeling it back so. Slowly.

His fingers were very gentle as they slowly dragged along her skin. His calluses scrapped along her nerves, contrasting with the leather of her gloves, sensitizing everywhere they touched. He didn't seem to be in a hurry, tugging each finger away from her knuckles, expression intent. Only when the glove fell away did he shift his grip so that his thumb was rubbing against her palm, his other hand rising to trace bone, muscle and vein with his forefinger. He studied each faint scar before he turned her hand over and traced along the calluses on the pads of her palm. Her entire arm was tingling by the time he was done.

She had to swallow when he lifted his eyes to hers before deliberately reaching for her other hand. The air in the forest seemed thicker and a lot warmer by the time he was done and she wasn't entirely sure she wasn't trembling. Once again he dropped his gaze, giving her hand his full attention as he slowly, slowly removed her glove. He let the glove fall between them and reached to reclaim her other hand, holding them both loosely in his as he stared at them.

"Fascinating," he murmured in that low, chocolate tone of his as brushed over her knuckles with the pads of his thumbs. "They're not the slightest bit swollen." Itachi lifted his gaze and caught her eyes. "I've told you before, _Sakura_, how much I love your hands."

Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he lifted her hands to his mouth, lying soft kissing on the knuckles of both hands, his gaze warm. Sakura couldn't look away.

"I find myself… increasingly impressed," he spoke against her skin, lips just brushing her already sensitized skin. Each hot, damp breath teased against her nerves, and combined with the softness of his teasing lips and intent gaze.

Sakura felt her lungs contract with the honest appreciation and intensity of his words.

"That is no easy feat," he continued, moving her hand close to his mouth again for another kiss. "Your skills are truly noteworthy."

What could she say to that? Really? Had anyone ever—_ever_—taken the time to stop, to notice, to make her feel like… like she was more than good enough. His honest appreciation and lavish attention stole her breath away. She couldn't even object to the way he was touching her—they had done much more than that, after all, and it felt…good.

"Thank you," was all she managed to say.

She could feel his lips curl up against her skin, and he kissed her one more time before using his grip to pull her forward.

Sakura managed to avoid sprawling on top of the gathered food containers with a movement that must have looked like a contortionist and involving completely cooperating with Itachi's sudden movement. But she couldn't keep back the startled 'eep' at the abrupt change. He released one hand to position her in front of him as he leaned back down on his elbow.

"Don't sit so far away," he chided softly in her ear, skimming his hand down her side until it came to her waist. Using that grip, he fit her back against his chest, her body fully nestled in the curve of his waist.

He was warm and solid against her, the big jerk. To think she had thought for just one moment that he was actually being romantic, that he was treating her like a human. She elbowed him in the gut, hard. It was like elbowing granite with a slightly squishy covering, but Sakura ignored the pain. She'd hit plenty of harder things—like Naruto's head.

Itachi didn't make a sound, but he was close enough that the sharp exhale poofed in her ear, and she told herself that it did not tickle. His grip on her waist tightened, and he didn't let go of her hand either. "I object to being moved around like a salt shaker, Uchiha-san."

He tilted his head so she felt her breath cascade down her neck, "And I object to your stubborn, needless refusal to use my name."

She ignored him. "If I have to elbow you again," Sakura said with false brightness, "I am going to use chakra. Let's not spoil this lovely picnic you prepared by fighting, Uchiha-san. Let go of me."

As if she had found the release to a genjutsu, his hand released her waist while his other slowly uncoiled its grip on her hand. She told herself she did not miss his warmth as she pulled away, compromising by settling down on the same side of the blanket as Itachi.

Deciding her best option was to ignore the way she could feel his eyes on her profile, she turned her attention back to the delicately carved wooden boxes that he had packed their meals in. Upon closer inspection, she realized that they were bento boxes which meant he really had put the food together instead of picking something up at a stand. Watching him carefully out of the corner of her eyes, she reached out and removed the lid of the one closest to her.

Surprise flickered through her at how, well, _pretty_ the bento was. Even after the means of travel the carefully arranged food was perfectly in place. Besides his mother's rice balls he had brought grilled nasu, what looked and smelled like teriyaki beef, and very neatly arranged kyuri. The rice itself was mingled with chestnuts and small sesame seeds and tucked into the last corner was a small collection of sweet jellies.

She really wanted to go for the rice balls. Shooting him a glance out of the corner of her eyes, she pretended not to notice the faintly amused curve of his lips. Accepting the chopsticks he handed her, she broke them. Muttering a quick thanks, she picked up a slice of the beef. Popping it into her mouth, she chewed slowly. This time she hoped she hid her surprise better but the way his mouth curved at the edges told her she hadn't done a good job.

"This is good."

He scooped up some of the grilled kyuri from his bento. "I'm glad you approve."

They were silent for several moments, taking the edge off the worse of their training hunger. The nurse in her was appreciative of the mix of protein and vegetables and the woman was forcing herself to wait to try one of the little jellies. The way he was watching her was almost as distracting as the deliberate, graceful way he moved his hands as he ate.

It really was unfair how attractive he was. They had just finished busting up several hundred yards of forest and she didn't think it was unreasonable to assume she had made him sweat a little. Yet, there he sat. Hair falling smoothly down his back untangled, shirt unwrinkled and posture so attractively relaxed. Everything about him was inviting her to enjoy herself and if it wasn't for that damn smile, she might have let him lull her into a false sense of security. That smile was warm and open and so _dangerous_.

Needing a distraction – from _him_, from _herself_ –, she swallowed the mouthful of flavorful rice before speaking. "So… I take it things have been settled with the clan, then?"

Itachi raked her with his gaze before his face settled into a faintly smug look. He took his time before answering, lifting the chopsticks to his lips and then slowly drawing them out. "They… believe we have reached an agreement."

Well. That conversation went nowhere. And now he was staring at her with heat in his eyes because he _knew_ she had started the conversation because she was uncomfortable. She huffed and reached for one of the jellies. Really, she deserved it after putting up with him.

"Good," she said, belligerently. "If Sasuke kept pouting, I was going to have to start setting up traps for his fangirls."

Itachi raised one eyebrow, "Are you trying to actually keep them away? Because your traps are more like an invitation."

Sakura choked. The little jelly refused to go down and she had to cough several times before it cleared her lungs. Glaring at him from under her bangs, she told herself she was smiling, not baring her teeth at him. "Not very subtle, Uchiha-_san_."

He smiled at her, lifting his knee so he could rest his arm on it while flicking his chopsticks in her direction. "If you don't do something about them, Sakura, I will."

Sakura pointed her chopsticks at him, wondering exactly how much force it would take to ram them through his pretty eyes. "And here I thought you liked being able to break in at will."

His eyes lit with something like glee. When he spoke, his voice was soft, smooth with an emotion that was almost like _affection_. "Ah, Sakura, it will take more than a few traps to keep me away."

Under that soft tone was a challenge. One she really wasn't prepared to address. Sasuke had taken the time to warn her about challenges. Right now was a good time to remember that. "I'll keep that in mind."

His smile changed again and she swallowed. Deciding to ignore the way her pulse was picking up speed, she lowered her eyes to her bento and gave in to the call of the rice ball. If the picnic continued to go in a direction she wasn't expecting, she was going to eat one while she had the chance.

Itachi, the rat bastard, moved the container of rice balls out of her reach. Sakura suppressed a growl.

"I am very curious to see what you think about these rice balls," Itachi said, picking up one perfectly formed sphere with his hand while he set the container on the other side of his body with the other. "I've heard you admire my mother's recipe."

Sakura grit her teeth, "The last of your mother's rice balls have been the start of more than a few sparring matches in Team 7. Mikoto-san is an excellent cook."

Itachi leaned back on his elbow again, partially reclining as he extended the rice ball in his other hand towards Sakura. "I'll be sure to relay your complements to the chef."

Glaring at him, Sakura reached for the rice ball. He moved his hand out of the way.

She narrowed her eyes. "The last time an Uchiha taunted me with one of Mikoto-san's rice balls; he ended up with his face in the dirt."

Itachi chuckled, his eyes heating almost sharingan bright, "I would never deny you, Sakura." He held out his hand again.

She stretched out her hand, only to have the rice ball once again removed from her reach. Sakura didn't bother stifling her frustration.

Itachi used the arm he had been leaning on to shove himself up, and he was suddenly inches away from her. Dark eyes locked with hers and his hair swept down beside him like a curtain while the rice ball was held akimbo between them. "Not like that, Sakura," he murmured.

Her confusion and frustration melted away to horrified shock. Surely he didn't think…

"What do you mean?"

"Take it from my hand," he continued in that same dark, deliciously intoxicating tone, "or do not take it at all."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "It is a very bad idea to get between a woman and her food, Uchiha-san."

He darted forward, quick and smooth as a water jutsu, and caught her lower lip in his. He bit it till it stung, then sucked the hurt away. Drawing back slowly so that her lip released with a soft _plop_, Itachi caught her eyes with his.

"Call me _Itachi_," he said, an almost dangerous light entering his eyes. Once again, he held up the rice ball between them, just below her chin.

Sakura gulped. She had a feeling that remaining uncompromising on both of these issues was a very, very bad idea. This _meant_ something to him. To deny him both these things would be equivalent denying _him_, and he would either leave or attempt to up the ante further. The thought of him pushing the envelope further caused a surge of nervous flutterings in her stomach and the thought of him leaving… She didn't want him to leave. And besides, the rice ball smelled delicious.

Slowly, keeping her eyes locked with his, Sakura leaned down and took a bite of the rice ball. She chewed slowly, savoring the mix of flavors on her tongue. It had been some time since she had last enjoyed one of Mikoto-sans' rice balls. Flicking her tongue out along her bottom lip, she made sure she hadn't missed a single grain of rice. Itachi's eyes had darkened and brightened so that she could almost make out the faint sparks of the sharingan in his gaze.

She didn't quite dare to lean back down and finish the treat, as she was sure she would end up licking his fingers. Instead, she leaned back just enough to at least have some warning before he moved. Lowering her lashes so that she was looking up at him through them, she swallowed at the way he was just watching.

"They remain as good as I remember, Uchiha-san."

Instead of answering immediately, he lifted the rest of the rice ball to his own mouth and it disappeared with a flick of his fingers. Chewing slowly, he swallowed before his lips curled just enough at the corners to be dangerous.

"They're fairly easy to make if you have the recipe."

Sakura mood went from fairly breathless to flat out grumpy. Narrowing her eyes, she studied his smug expression and tried to decide if she could get away with murdering the heir to the clan after all. Pursing her lips, she finally gave into the way he was fairly humming with amused patience. He knew she wanted to ask.

"You have the recipe?"

A dangerous smile slowly curved his lips. "It's an Uchiha Clan secret. One of many."

Sakura's eyebrow rose. "I've had your aunt's rice balls. They are not the same."

Using his knuckles, Itachi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Excellence is not measured in a recipe."

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't try to dodge me, Uchiha-san. I'm a medic. I know different ingredients when I taste them."

His eyes narrowed as well, and he moved back, reclining on his elbow again, "Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that it is a _family_ secret."

Sakura crossed her arms and huffed. "Well, it's not a taste limited to _family_ appreciation. If you would be so kind as to pass them back over, please."

A smug smile curled his lips as he reached for the container behind him and passed it to her. His eyes had lit up again and were weighing heavily on her while she retrieved the container from his hand and set them close by her.

He watched her as she lifted the rice ball up to her mouth and waited until she took a bite before he spoke, "I will have to remember to make them for you more often, _Sakura_."

Sakura choked.

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_**Please comment!**_


	13. A Foot in the Door

**Disclaimer**: If we owned Naruto, there would be more kissing and less random wangst.

Wow, do you know how amazing you guys are? Not only did we top over ONE HUNDRED reviews for the last chapter, but we got our very first piece of fanart! Many thanks to Bundyangel. It's so much fun, seriously awesome. If you guys want to check it out, the link's in our profile. We are really, (and I know, we keep saying this) really blown away by the positive response to this story. We're so glad you're enjoying reading it! And well, I'll let this chapter speak for itself, but we certainly hope that you enjoy the... developments in it.

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_6 Years Ago  
_Konoha Village

When Sakura was twelve she failed her first chunin exam. It had cut like a deep wound somewhere inside her. Sasuke was in the hospital and Naruto was sulking. Kakashi had smiled at them all with his one eye but something about his expression had rung false. Sakura wasn't sure she ever wanted to read beneath the underneath again if it left her with that sick sensation in her stomach when she realized how disappointed Kakashi was – that she was with _herself_.

Her feet took her to a familiar bridge and she had sat down, letting the late noon sun warm the back of her neck. She didn't want to be home. Her parents weren't shinobi so they didn't understand how devastated she felt… they hugged her, kissed her, asked her to pick up her room and went on about the day as if nothing happened. Fingers curling into her hair, she had sat in silence until a morose Naruto joined her. Somehow she found the strength to talk to him and somehow they ended up playing cards until it was too dark to see.

She had no idea where he had hidden the deck of cards or why he had them when he was so _terrible_ at cards. He didn't really understand the strategies any better than he did on a battlefield and his tactic of charging right through their enemies didn't work here. Somehow she managed to find the patience to slowly and carefully walk him through the basics of a few simple games.

It was almost evening the second day when they met at the bridge to play cards while they waited for Kakashi to show up when Sasuke joined them. They were shielding their cards from the wind with their bodies, bickering about the rules when Naruto looked up and grinned.

"Oi! Teme! Come and join us! I've finally gotten where I can beat Sakura-chan and your next!"

Sakura took a great deal of pleasure in slapping him hard enough against the back of his head that her hand stung. Sasuke just scowled at them, jamming his hands into his pockets, his shoulders hunched. There was an expression in his face that had Sakura setting her cards down, her stomach going cold.

"We're being disbanded tomorrow."

"WHAT?" Naruto shot to his feet, his eyes wide.

Sakura kept herself still with only a great deal of effort. Her voice, when it came out, was very small. "Sasuke-kun?"

He shrugged his shoulders, the motion jerky. He averted his eyes. "I'm sure Kakashi will tell us tomorrow."

"That's stupid! How can they disband us! We just got started!" Naruto's fists were clenched at his sides, his knuckles white.

"Doesn't matter. We're all being sent our separate ways."

"Where?" Sakura asked quietly, her eyes wide. "We're not even chunin." '_We need to be a team to be chunin!_'

He shrugged again, eyes shaded by his bangs. "The Clan has decided I need more specialized training. I don't know what they're doing with you two."

"The… clan?"

She stared at him with wide eyes trying to understand. She had known that Sasuke was under the pressure of his family to succeed, but she whose family wasn't shinobi and Naruto who was an orphan, had always been mildly jealous of having people who understood what they were going through. Except _now_ he was saying that those people didn't want him on their team anymore. Somehow she had thought that Sasuke would just receive a pat on the head and admonishment to do better next time.

She hadn't expected his clan to respond like this.

"Your clan doesn't want us to be on the same team anymore so… we're not?"

"Officially we're just getting specialized training." Sasuke said flatly. "I'm going to be training with Kakashi."

Sakura wondered if it was possible to hurt that much from a single sentence. It was like the failure of the exams was being ground into her skin so everyone could see it.

They weren't good enough for the Uchihas.

"That's stupid!" Naruto shouted, stalking forward. "_We're Team 7_! How can you let them just pull us apart like this!"

"It's what the clan wants," Sasuke snapped back, shoulders straight, eyes slowly bleeding red. "I can't do anything about it."

Sasuke's look was defiant. For the first time Sakura saw exactly how hard what had happened in the forest was on Sasuke. Being saved by his brother and now being told that they weren't good enough by his family… Sasuke's confidence had taken the same hit hers had, but instead of dealing with it he was simply letting his clan steer him in a different direction.

They weren't _good enough_. Sasuke wasn't good enough for his clan, she wasn't good enough and Naruto wasn't good enough for Sasuke. Sakura curled her fists together and got angry. How could a single family have so much power over a situation? She didn't care that they ran the police and that Sasuke's brother was so good he could take on monsters in the forest and walk away from it without more than a scratch.

Sasuke was theirs!

"So you're _just leaving_?"

Sasuke turned away from them and started to walk. "The clan has already decided, Sakura. It's over."

She remembered Hyuuga Neji's face as he fought his cousin and Hinata's stubborn, frightened refusal to back down. She remembered the words "fate" and "destiny" and how Naruto had fought through both. Slowly she turned her eyes to Naruto, staring at him, wondering what he would do. His hands were still clenched, jaw flexing in anger and his eyes were narrowed to slits.

"They can't do this. I won't let them do this!" He took off after Sasuke, shouting his name as loudly as he could.

She lowered her eyes to the cards being blown about by the wind. Slowly she reached out and began gathering them back into the deck. Patiently, carefully she worked her mind racing. She had always thought 'clan' was just another word for 'family'. Kiba always seemed to so happy with his and Sasuke had always spoken with a firm sort of pride in his eyes, but now she wasn't certain. Family to her meant comfort and love and a place to hide when things got hard. Clan… clan meant her teammates were leaving her because Sasuke hadn't met expectations that weren't his own, meant that Sasuke was willing to just walk away from them because they were 'holding him back' from reaching those expectations, meant that she was alone when she had been whole before…

Sitting there, on the bridge listening to the echoes of the past year whistle through her ears she felt very, very small.

X

_Present Day  
_Konoha Village

When Itachi had – 'kidnapped' was such a crude term, since the _last _way he thought of Sakura as was a child – _abducted_ Sakura from underneath the Team 7's collective nose, he had done so fully anticipating a fall out. Team 7 was one of the few genin teams which had remained together in its entirety despite the layers of rank. They were notoriously protective of each other.

Laying down the gauntlet as he did had served two purposes. The first was to throw his opponents off balance, the second, as _everyone_ kept informing him, provided him an opportunity to deal with the fact that Sakura was on his little brother's team. It appeared that he would need to make certain aspects… very clear.

He had not anticipated that they would respond so quickly, but Itachi found himself both unsurprised and unimpressed. So impatient. He hadn't even made it home yet. Sasuke appeared in front of him while the blond teammate flickered into existence behind him.

"Aniki," Sasuke said, his voice impassive. Itachi was amused. "Let's take a walk."

The blond wasn't even making an attempt to be subtle. His chakra was coming off him in spirals and he was close enough to be pushing against his personal space. Sasuke at least had enough self-preservation to stay out of immediate reach.

Sasuke was all too aware of his brother's amusement as they moved down the old path that lead to a small clearing near the compound. Gritting his back teeth together, he held his frustration firmly in check. Itachi had kidnapped Sakura. Right in front of them. When Naruto had come out of the genjutsu, howling profanities and swearing revenge, he had agreed to this little meeting because the only other option was to go to Sakura first.

He preferred to deal with his brother.

"Alright, Uchiha," Naruto snarled. "What the _hell_ were you doing with _our_ Sakura-chan?"

Of course, Itachi, being Itachi, just stood there. He looked at Naruto for a long moment and then flicked his gaze up to Sasuke. Sasuke smothered a sigh. It was amazing how one little gesture from his brother could speak so loudly and immediately make him feel five again.

He narrowed his eyes. That wasn't going to work either. They were here for a reason. Itachi wasn't going to deter him with a _look_.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted. "I'm talking to you."

"Then perhaps you should actually say something instead of asking inane questions." Itachi lifted his brow just enough to show how disinterested he was in the conversation. His stance was completely relaxed and Sasuke didn't need his sharingan to tell him that his brother hadn't bothered to pool any chakra for immediate use.

Why stick to verbal insults when he could use his body language to poke at them as well? Sasuke struggled to keep from lunging at his brother. That would solve nothing. At least he had the satisfaction of knowing that Itachi's silent taunts were going clear past Naruto.

"I said," Naruto said as he stalked around, whisker marks stark against his cheeks. "What the hell do you think you are doing with our Sakura-chan?"

"Learning her."

If Itachi was _trying_ to provoke Naruto beyond the point of all reason, he was doing a good job.

"It's simple," Sasuke interrupted. "You might be interested in her now, learning her now, but what happens when you're done, Itachi? You need to understand. She's our teammate."

Itachi's eyes narrowed and he tensed ever so slightly. Interesting. "I am well aware of who her teammates are, little brother."

"Good." Naruto's voice was guttural. "Because if you hurt her we'll tear you apart. She's _our_ Sakura-chan first. Don't forget that, Uchiha."

Sasuke watched as Itachi's eyes flickered over Naruto. "I take excellent care of what is mine. _You_ should remember that as well."

"What the HELL does that—"

Sasuke reached over and yanked Naruto back. Just like his brother to give such a back handed insult, suggesting that he and Naruto had failed to care for Sakura at some point in their relationship. However, attempting to fully body tackle Itachi wouldn't solve anything, but it would give him ample opportunity to piss them off even more.

"We take care of Sakura just fine, Aniki."

Itachi's mouth curled at the edges. "Do you?"

Naruto's chakra flared so hot, he was practically steaming. Sasuke sent an accessing glance his way. He'd known for years about the Kyuubi… but that was hardly common knowledge. Sasuke didn't know if Itachi was one of the privileged few who knew about Naruto or if Itachi had figured it out himself, but if Naruto kept this up there was very little chance of it escaping Itachi's notice that there were two chakras in one body. Naruto had done a good job learning how to control the Kyuubi's chakra flux over the years, but anger still brought the Kyuubi out in him. And Naruto had been _pissed_ about that genjutsu, even more now that Itachi was challenging something that he held very close –the protection of his precious people.

"Naruto. Control yourself," the words were specifically chosen to bring a verbal slap upside the other's head, and if that didn't work, Sasuke was going to have to deal with him before Itachi escaped due to a more immediate concern.

Naruto stepped away from Sasuke, towards Itachi, _prowled_ forward with more of the fox in his movement than not, and spoke, "Just what are you implying, bastard? If you have something to say, come out and say it."

Something sharp and brilliant flickered behind his brother's eyes. The edge of his mouth curled as he studied Naruto. "As you have said, you _are_ her teammate."

"Speak plainly, you bastard!"

Itachi just smiled a sharp, thin little smile that made Sasuke want to punch him.

"I wouldn't have thought you would be insecure enough that you would have to separate Sakura from everyone she considered friends. Feeling a little threatened, Aniki?"

Itachi just flicked his gaze back to Sasuke and slowly assessed him. Sasuke fought the impulse to squirm. He knew that look – somewhere, he had made a mistake. His brother was in the process of measuring just how long it would take to bring the ending blow. His eyes narrowed. Not this time.

"It's not my 'insecurity,' you have to worry about, little brother. I'm not the one instigating a confrontation over your spending a few hours with her."

"No," Sasuke snapped. "You're the one who came charging into our practice session to _kidnap_ her."

"At least she _likes_ spending time with us," Naruto followed up, quick as a beat. "She _wants_ to practice with us. She _wants_ to be with us. What does that say about _you_?"

"You may ask her, if you wish." His voice was smooth, eyes glinting. "I cannot speak for her personally. _Sakura_," and he drawled her name in a tone that spoke of familiarity and need. "Has always demonstrated a unique efficiency in speaking her mind, don't you think?"

Sasuke barely managed to keep from blanching. There was no way in hell Naruto would managed to keep his mouth shut about this conversation if he and Sakura started arguing about it, which they would. Naruto was still too pissed to think clearly and bringing up that she had been kidnapped would embarrass and irritate her.

And then she would react. Violently.

"You don't think we will?" Naruto challenged, voice low.

Itachi studied him before turning away, dismissing Naruto for the second time that evening. There was a glitter in Itachi's eyes and Sasuke clenched his fists. That was the expression he wore when he knew he had won.

Well, there was really no way of avoiding Sakura over this forever anyway. Sasuke knew enough to know when he was fooling himself. But he couldn't let Itachi just walk away so easily. Not about this. Sakura was too important. And from what he had implied… he would _not_ let her be taken from them.

"Aniki. Don't think you can make her choose. If you try, it won't be you."

Itachi turned with fluid grace and Sasuke felt his brother at last begin to gather chakra. But he refused to respond. This wasn't his fight, he'd done his best to stay out of whatever was going on with his teammate and his brother, but if there was one thing that Sasuke was _absolutely certain_ of it was that Team Seven was his family when his family was just a clan, and he _would_ fight to protect that.

Sasuke swallowed, but forced himself to continue in a slow, even tone. "You already know that we won't stand for it if you hurt her. I don't need to repeat what will happen. Sakura's ours, Aniki. We've sweat and bled together since we were twelve years old. We've fought to stay together. She's ours. If you try to keep her just for yourself, you won't be able to do that without breaking her." Sasuke took one deliberate step forward, a hair's breadth away from his brother, Naruto's familiar heat one step beside him. "And we'll break you first."

There was a long pause before Sasuke sensed the chakra coiling in his brother relax.

"Maybe not so foolish after all," Itachi murmured. "But too little, too late, little brother."

And with that, Itachi turned and walked away.

X

Tonight was definitely not going how she had planned. She was supposed to have spent the evening with Ino, catching up on life and doing ridiculous things to her toenails. They made a point to clear their schedules at least one a month to hang out and catch up; had been doing so since they had both agreed to disagree about Sasuke. But tonight, whatever plans Ino had made for them had been cancelled with the appearance of the ANBU member and his soft request that she report to the hospital immediately. She had barely had the time needed to change and run into Ino knocking on her door, gasp out several fast apologies before she bolted across rooftops to the hospital.

The place had been in an uproar. Two genin teams had been attacked by unmarked shinobi (Sakura was putting money on Sound or Cloud) and she had been needed to deal with the more serious of the injuries. Tsunade and Shizune were both neck deep in council meetings. She had managed to save the young genin's leg, but he would need careful watching. Their Jounin instructor (had she been told his name?) had needed some serious work done to save his lung after he had taken a poisoned senbon.

After that, Sakura was quite certain she hadn't had a moment to herself. There had been an ambush on the border by Rain-nin and then an ANBU squad had reported in for immediate attention after something had obviously gone _very_ wrong. Broken bones and one very tricky spinal injury would have been enough, but then she had to deal with torn ligaments and cut muscles. After that she found herself buried up to her elbows as she helped a particularly gifted chunin rearrange the internal organs of yet another ANBU who had been cut open. She was going to have to ask Tsunade if she could read the report on how they managed to get him home without losing pieces of him.

To put it shortly, she was _exhausted_.

Sakura pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose and wondered if knocking her own head off would fix the headache that was currently pounding behind her eyes. Experience told her she was starting to feel the chakra drain from too many wounds and the way she had to blink to focus on charts told her she needed to home and sleep. _Soon_. Except there was still a stack of charts as thick as her wrist and she had another half hour to go on her shift. Straightening her posture, she rubbed her face briskly.

She didn't have time to quietly find a corner to collapse in like a silly genin. Picking up the first chart she could reach, she flicked it open and quickly started scanning the contents. Hyuuga. Gut wound. Suffering from severe chakra depletion (had to be, for an enemy to get that close) and blood loss. Concern over infection since the wound was sealed in the field. Allergic to certain classes of antibiotics. Sakura frowned. That would limit the nurses in treating the patient. While chakra was capable of burning out infection, unless it was a severe case, most patients were treated with antibiotics and herbs. It kept particularly stubborn shinobi off their feet longer, gave their coil systems time to recover and it didn't tax the chakra reserves of the hospital staff for something minor.

Best to look in on this one herself and make sure there wasn't any internal bleeding left. That would be something that would need to be dealt with. She would make a note to have Shizune look in on him in the next shift. She didn't have the chakra reserves to do anything more than that unless she had to.

Wishing that taking a solider pill wouldn't get her annexed to mopping floors for the next week; she pushed the door open and blinked as she recognized Mai. Sakura had the vague notion that the girl should have gotten off her shift already and pushed it aside. The ambush had left all hands on deck.

Sakura's tired eyes narrowed in on the syringe in the girls and she frowned.

"Mai?"

The girl jumped. She spun around, her brown eyes wide with surprise. "Oh, Sakura-san! I didn't hear you enter!"

Sakura tried to smile at her, but her insides were going cold. "Why are you administering an antibiotic to a patient without his chart?"

Mai's smile faltered and she looked confused. "I'm sorry?"

Sakura lifted the chart in her hand and took several very carefully contained steps forward. "His chart. I have it. You were treating the patient with the wrong chart."

Mai looked horrified. "But… I mean, I was given…" her eyes settled on a folder in front of her and her face paled. Her fingers tightened on the syringe and she swallowed several times. "I was given a chart, Haruno-san."

Sakura wondered what else could possibly go wrong tonight. Reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose, she took several even breaths to contain her growing temper.

"Did you bother to check the bands with the chart number?" Sakura tried to keep her voice even but it came out flat and hard. "Protocol demands that you check each patients ID number against the chart you have."

Mai's lips were trembling a little when Sakura lifted her eyes back to her face. "No, Haruno-san. I did not check."

Ice crawled down Sakura's spine. If Mai was not checking chart numbers against ID numbers then the odds that there were more nurses making the same breech in protocol to save time. Especially on a night like tonight; just the thought of how much retraining it would take to correct the problem was enough to spike her headache but the real problem was that protocol was there to protect the patients. Glancing at the tray filled with antibiotics, she glanced over the names and felt her temper surge. Carefully she tapped down on her anger, holding onto her temper by a thread.

"So you are unaware that the dose of antibiotics you were about to administer would be lethal for Hyuuga-kun here?"

Mai was trembling now, but she managed to answer. "N-no, Haruno-san."

The cold in her stomach turned to acid and her chest burned.

"Turn your name tag in to the front desk. I expect a complete report on Tsunade's desk by dawn explaining your actions and you will submit yourself for an evaluation." Sakura's voice was tight with suppressed temper.

"Yes." Mai whispered.

"You will not return to active duty until you have been approved by Tsunade, Shizune, or myself."

"Yes, Haruno-san."

Mai exited the room silently and Sakura carefully put the chart down. Fisting her knuckles, she took several deep, deep breaths. Shizune wouldn't be coming in for another three hours. Half a shift. Mai – a normally very competent nurse – had almost made a fatal mistake. She had no choice but to stick around until someone else could take control. They could not – _could not_! – allow this sort of situation to repeat itself. _Ever_.

The assurance that if they could just make it back to the village, they had a chance to survive whatever the injury was one that Tsunade had worked very hard to inspire. They couldn't afford stupid, unnecessary deaths because of lack of protocol! Reaching up, she rubbed her temples. The backs of her eyes were burning and she counted her breaths until she got her emotions under control. _She was so tired_. But she had a job to do.

_Three hours_. Carefully walking to the Hyuuga, she settled her hand onto his abdomen. The surge of emotions gave her a little more chakra to work with, but she would pay for it later. Ignoring the small voice in the back of her head, she went ahead and pushed chakra into the closed wound and very carefully burned away traces of infection while she checked for internal bleeding.

He had been too close to dying tonight, unaware – an _unnecessary death_ – and one that couldn't be explained with honor and missions. It was the least she could do. Staggering a bit as she pulled back, she reached over with surprisingly steady hands and marked his chart as complete before heading back into the fray.

Only three hours.

Three hours in which she monitored every critical patient, double checked every distribution of medication, and tried not to fall over or snap off someone's neck. Sakura thought she might have to crawl home, and was seriously considering just curling up on her office floor. Except she knew the moment she closed her eyes someone would come through her office door in a panic. If that happened, her control was going to snap and she was either going to go on a rampage or burst into hysterics. She didn't know at this point which was worse. It was nights like tonight that seemed to destroy her emotional walls. Sakura lowered her eyes to hands and swallowed when she realized they were shaking.

She needed to go home. She had pushed herself too far again and Tsunade was not going to be kind if she was around long enough for her sensei to catch her working herself this hard again. Then she really _would_ cry. Pressing the palms of her hands against her eyes, she pulled herself together enough to hand files over to Shizune, debrief her on the evening and to clean the blood out from under her short nails. Then she picked up her wallet and kunai from the locker room and stubbornly walked home.

Dawn had broken hours ago and the morning light made her eyes burn, reminding her of the pounding headache and how weak she felt. She had used too much chakra. Sakura made a point to not even brush up against someone. Her eyes and her throat burned with a combination of frustration, exhaustion, and the emotional grind that nights like tonight left behind. She felt raw. If she touched anyone, she would shatter and all her control would wind up in a storm of emotions that wouldn't stop until she had nothing left.

She was staring at her front door for several seconds before she realized it and started to fumble for her keys. Protein bar. Bed. Maybe her couch. That was all she wanted.

She did _not_ want, could _not_ deal with the sudden unveiling of chakra from within her house. But Sakura had already fit the key into her lock and she was just too damn tired to even _think_ about teleporting elsewhere. She stumbled into her foyer, kicked off her shoes, and then made her way into her kitchen. Maybe if she ignored him, he'd go away.

No, even in her tired state she knew better than that. "Leave," she said flatly, while reaching into her cabinet. There were protein bars there, and she was only grabbing one of them because she knew her body needed the fuel to recover while she slept.

And then he was behind her. His warmth reached out to touch her even though he refrained. "That's hardly polite, _Sakura_."

Damn it. Why did he have to take everything she said like a challenge? Why did he have to show up now – why did he have to show up at _all_? What he _want_ from her? Why did everything have to be so, so –

"Can't you just once," her voice broke, "just _once_ cut me a break?" To her horror, her exhaustion was manifesting itself in what was beginning to look like dry sobs. No, no, there were tears too.

Damn. Sakura hunched her shoulders and refused to look at him. Uchiha Itachi did not get to see her cry. He had not earned that right. "Get out," she hissed.

"Your chakra levels are dangerously low." His voice was warm and dispassionate. It should not have made it harder for her to breathe. It should not have made her want to relax back into him. "You are nearing exhaustion."

"I passed exhaustion hours ago," Sakura gritted. She would have said more, but she had made a very definite choking noise at the end of that sentence and it was far more of a tell than she cared for. She really wanted to wipe her face, but that would have been even worse.

Then his hand was on the small of her back and his other reached up to cup her face, gently forcing her to lean her head back up against his shoulder. Sharingan eyes met hers and the intensity in them scorched her.

Those eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. "What happened?"

A calloused thumb scraped the tear track. That soft touch was almost too much so she squeezed her eyes shut and drew in a dangerously ragged breath. He was so damn warm and the temptation to just turn and press her face into her chest was difficult to push down. The hand on her back moved up and down along her spine and she dragged in another long breath. Feeling a little steadier she opened her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. His eyes still burned with the sharingan and there was an expression there that made her chest tighten. It took several more even breaths before she tried to answer him.

"I was on shift…" her voice cracked and she had to bit her bottom lip to hide it's tell all trembling. She averted her eyes and breathed through her lips. She would not sniffle. Not in front of him. She was trembling with the effort. Digging her nails into her palms she lifted her chin to tell him to leave. The hand in the small of her back moved to her other cheek and he proceeded to drag his knuckles along her damp skin. The touch was soft and the long fingered hand cradling her cheek was gentle. Her breathing went ragged and this time she couldn't hide the way her lip trembled.

"Go on."

Sakura instinctively stiffened. Both his hands were cradling her face and it would be _so easy_ for him to snap her neck right now. Even in her exhaustion, she could feel his chakra coiling, and even though his touch couldn't be called anything but gentle, she knew how easily that could change.

He was completely focused on her. Her tears had partially stilled, and she was breathing a little easier. His very presence had a bracing effect—something in her was responding to him as a challenge, while the rest just wanted to melt into him, and despite the confusion Sakura was united about one thing. She would not take his orders.

"I've had a bad day. I should be able to come home and collapse. I shouldn't have to deal with you."

"Then you should have set better traps." One of his hands left her face and slid down her spine to her back to wrap securely around her waist, and he bent down wrapping his other arm around her knee to support her as he lifted her up against his chest and carried her into her living room.

Sakura was too tired to do anything other than burry her forehead in the crook of his neck and grunt in protest. He was warm and solid and comforting around her, and if he would just hold still she could fall asleep right there.

He sat down on her couch and arranged her sidewise on his lap, her legs across his side, her back leaning against his other side and shoulder. She was more than a little disgruntled that he was moving her around so easily and she tried to pull herself together long enough to complain about it.

"Sakura."

Tilting her head back she swallowed when she realized his sharingan was still bright in his gaze. Closing her eyes she dropped her head back onto his shoulder and wondered if her arm would be numb in the morning if she _just went to sleep_…

"Sakura." This time his tone was a little firmer and she managed to grunt at him. His heartbeat was steady under her ear and it was trying to lull her to sleep. "How long were you at the hospital?"

She managed to make a noise. It sounded reasonable to her.

"_Sakura_."

His tone was soft. There wasn't an edge to it but it struck a nerve anyway. Sakura roused herself from the comfortable dose she had almost fallen into. Sighing low in her throat she opened her eyes and found the will to push the words out.

"Hospital protocol." They need shorter words for this.

Annoyance at the man holding her bubbled up in her chest and she halfheartedly tried to rally herself into kicking him out of her house and crawling into bed. Except her bed wasn't this warm and she was finally off her feet. Except every muscle she had ached, her exhaustion and emotional outburst left her feeling flat and empty. She couldn't feel her fingertips anymore and the world was slowly sliding away with each breath she took.

She closed her eyes, just for a moment, to gather some strength and focus...

He watched, some part of him with muted awe, as Sakura fell asleep in his arms. He knew that the kunoichi was tired—near exhausted—but Itachi could recall with perfect clarity the last time someone had trusted him enough to fall asleep like this. Sasuke had been four.

It was a novel experience.

Slowly letting the sharingan fade from his eyes, he considered how much chakra she had lost. With her efficiency, to be this drained meant she had performed multiple surgeries. He didn't doubt that after a point she would have been excused from such duties – a surgeon without chakra was useless – but something had obviously pushed her to her limits. It was nearing ten in the morning. Shifts were regulated to six-hour revolutions so she had worked at least one full shift, perhaps two if she was called in last evening and then half of another. There had been frustration mixed in with her weariness… frustration and temper that had only compounded with her exhaustion.

Sakura was obviously reluctant to talk about the incident. That was fine. There were other ways to discreetly discover what had occurred last night. Carefully he reached up to run his fingers through her hair until he came to the knot at the base of her skull. It took a few seconds but he worked the knot out and slipped her forehead protector off her head.

Running his fingers down her spine he shifted her weight carefully. It was a sign of how exhausted she was that she didn't stir as he lifted her as he stood. For a moment he considered settling her back onto the couch and decided against it. The bed was the best place for her to rest. It was more familiar and she wouldn't wake disoriented.

Her room was a soft mix of color and the smell of aged paper. Her bed was tucked at an angle that made the window was an easy escape but still managed to be out of immediate view in case of an unexpected visitor. The spaced along her walls that weren't lined with bookshelves stuffed with scrolls were filled with pictures; her dresser had a curious mix of half-polished weapons and feminine knickknacks.

Her bed however, was a rumpled mess. Lowering Sakura onto the mattress he set out organizing the blankets and sheets she seemed to have tied into a knot. It took a little longer than he had expected – how many blankets did she _need?_ – before he had tucked her in. Once he was satisfied that she was comfortable, he considered his options. He wasn't going to leave her unprotected in her exhausted state. He supposed he could set a few traps around her window and doors, but the chances that she would be coherent enough to notice and deal with them when she woke were slim.

He had nothing he needed to do today. Walking over to the wall that faced her bed but was still out of view of the window, he settled comfortable onto the floor and eyed the room around him. A few things he immediately placed. The photos of her team, what looked like a dying tomato plant in her windowsill – _ridiculous_ looking plant – and the walls scrolls delicately painted with the medicnin's oath. It was the collection of fanciful ribbons half shoved into a drawer, the dress thrown haphazardly over the back of a chair and the collection gear next to her closet that most interested him.

The hapless mixing of woman, medic and kunoichi was fascinating. Scanning a particularly dainty collection of breakables, he turned his eyes back to the woman who was so blissfully unaware of his perusal. A small smile tugged at his lips. She would be furious if she knew how many stories her room could tell him. How he wanted to explore each one, peel them apart and discover the secrets he could learn.

And that wasn't the only thing he wanted to discover. Itachi's eyes narrowed as he considered the exhausted form on the bed. Something had upset her. He _would_ find out what it was.

The quiet sound of her breathing filled the room, and Itachi lost track of time as he simply watched her. From the way her covers had been tangled, Itachi assumed that she moved around when she was sleeping, but apparently, her exhaustion overwhelmed that impulse. She had not stirred from where he had set her and something about her stillness… caught him.

He wasn't sure he liked it, this strange feeling of… something.

Unwilling to have anything within himself that was unknown, Itachi prodded the feeling, coaxing it out to analyze the emotion. He already knew he was… displeased… with whatever it was which had so upset her. He already knew that she fascinated him, that he enjoyed being in her presence. He knew he was somewhat… disappointed to find that he was denied her company. He knew how he responded to the blatant challenges to what was between them, first by his own teammates and then by hers. And some deep, feral part of him was satisfied, flattered, with her trust.

It was that part of him, that part of him rarely touched which was the source of this strange feeling. It was… unlike any feeling he'd ever experienced.

It wasn't simple curiosity anymore. He had dug deep enough into her life, had pushed and coaxed enough responses that he could predict her fundamental reactions with unerring accuracy. Yet… she still managed to surprise him. She challenged him. She refused to be intimidated by him or his blood limit. He… admired that.

He wanted more.

Slowly, he turned that thought over in his mind. It wasn't just physical. He had known he was interested in sharing her bed for some time now. It was more than the way she moved, more than the way she looked covered in the blood of her enemies, more than how her hands felt against his skin. He wanted the smile she very rarely gave him; he was fascinated by the way she laughed when she was comfortable in her environment – full throated and open, shaking with merriment, _vulnerable_. He wanted all that determination and brilliance directed and focused on _him_… the way he was now focused on her.

He did not question the way he had focused on her. Itachi was well aware of his own intensity. But this… desire for her to be equally fixated on him. That was something new. He had never experienced that before.

He had taken lovers before, when he was younger and flushed with hormonally driven curiosity. They had been older, experienced women who had been eager, interested, and more than willing to teach him what he wanted to know. Not once in all of his experience had Itachi craved his lover's attention and appreciation in the same way he was finding that he wanted Sakura's.

Itachi's movement to stand was almost subconscious. He moved like a shadow to stand beside her bed. Staring down at her peaceful face, he felt the urge to reach out and touch her, feel her smooth skin, move her hair away from her face, simply… be near to her.

His eyes narrowed. This… fascination… had disturbing consequences. Here he was, giving up his time and attention, with one part of his brain working feverishly to insure that _nothing_ ever upset her like this again… and yet, he was glad to do it. The thought of her being upset infuriated him, the thought of her being in danger…

Itachi grit his teeth. He was emotionally invested. She had become… someone precious to him. All while she persisted in calling him 'Uchiha-san.'

He felt his breathing begin to instinctively deepen, as it did before he was about to do a more complicated jutsu. Since she had become precious, she had become a vulnerability. The question was if it was an acceptable risk. The… seeming imbalance in their commitments was a factor, but one hardly worth considering. Itachi could already see signs of her softening towards him – the fact that she had fallen asleep _in his arms_ was a significant one. And he had never failed to get exactly what he wanted.

The pertinent part of the question was if this vulnerability was one worth protecting… or eliminating. It would be so easy…

Reaching out he feathered his fingers across her hair, barely touching. So easy. To eliminate or to integrate her into every part of his life. To break the ties he could feel between them, the draw, or to accept them and allow them to grow.

He had never particularly been interested in something lasting. But with her… she sparked his curiosity. How would it feel to wrap himself so deeply in her life she came to expect it? There were consequences. Her strength hid a fragileness that would have to be guarded. As strong, as competent and efficient as she was, her tendency for forming bonds with other shinobi left her vulnerable. Her relationship with his brother and… her Naruto would create complications. He didn't care to share what was his. As strong, as competent and efficient as she was… she gave too freely of herself to others. There was a weakness in her. It was soft and tender, so easy to bleed. It would be his, if he chose this path. Her complications and her bonds and her driving need to protect everything that was hers. It would be his, if he chose this path.

She would become his weakest point… and yet to turn away from a challenge because of fear was contemptible. He had spent his entire life mastering his weaknesses into strengths. This wouldn't be any different. He wouldn't allow it to be. Slowly he lowered his hands into her hair and twisted his fingers through the soft strands. Hadn't he already made this decision? Once with Sasuke and now… now with Sakura.

Lips curving into the faintest of a smile he stroked her hair away from her eyes. Yes, he would accept this. He would take it into his hands and shape it, slowly, _carefully_. Would dig out her weaknesses and guard them, strengthen them. He had told her she would be his and now he would set about making it so. Because he never failed in a task he gave himself and Haruno Sakura was the goal he had set.

_Everything_.

She would give him everything she was.

* * *

_**Thanks for reading! Please comment!**_


	14. Under Siege

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Naruto.

AN: Wow. Just... wow. We honestly don't know if we can get any more shocked at the level of response to this fic! Thank you so much! We regret the fact that we're not able to take the time to get back to each of you personally, but it's that or write more, and we figured we'd know what you'd pick. There have, however, been a couple of reoccurring questions which we really wanted to be able to interact with. For that purpose we have set up a _frequently asked questions _section at our homepage. If you're interested, please go on over and check it out. ALSO! MAJOR love and thanks to Nashy87 and Lauren Marie for sending us such awesome fanart. Seriously. The fact that something we wrote inspired others to create is just... wow. Thank you so much.

Less talking, more reading, yes? We hope you enjoy!

* * *

_20 Years Ago  
_Uchiha Compound

Mikoto adjusted the weight of her three-year-old son on her hip and tried to smile politely at one of Fugaku's aunts. The woman kept reaching out to pinch Itachi's cheeks and making the most outrageous faces to see if he would smile. Itachi just watched her the way he watched everything else – wide-eyed and solemn. She wouldn't have minded setting him down to let him totter around, but two days before he had managed to set a trap that had caught his father in a shower of kunai.

As entertaining as it would have been to see what sort of devilment was going on behind his quiet stare, she would have to deal with the aftermath and the elders were already watching him with eyes that were too sharp. Thankfully, Itachi didn't seem to mind her holding him today, although she knew he would soon.

Best to extract him from the small gathering. The small, well-kept garden behind the house usually offered some distraction for her small son and he had stopped tearing the flowers off the stalks after she had explained the purpose of the pretty flowers. Now he used the garden as a place to hide and stalk small animals. Adjusting him on her hip again, she bowed as well as she could and made her excuses. As soon as she rounded the corner, Itachi looked up at her with a fairly curious expression.

"Was the crazy lady broken?"

Mikoto kept a straight face only by long habit. "No, she's just old. Sometimes old people see the world differently."

"Why?"

"Do you see things the same way I do?"

He looked at her for a long moment and then shook his head. "No."

She nodded and set him down. Smoothing his hair back, she put on her best stern face. "Stay in the garden, Itachi. Do not set traps for the gardeners and please do not scare your relatives."

He nodded. "Okay."

Smiling she kissed the top of his head. "I will return in one hour."

"Bye."

She had done all she could. Itachi would do as she asked, but she also knew he would ponder the exact meaning of her words before deciding exactly how they applied to him. Three-year-olds shouldn't be that intelligent. Even so, she knew she would come back and find him covered in mud and examining some new puzzle that had caught his attention. He was still just a little boy, after all, and took a great deal of interest in the world around him.

X

Itachi was certainly covered in dirt. There was dirt streaking his clothing and a smudge of it against one cheek. Tonight's bath would require a great deal of soap if the grime sticking to the bottom of his pants said anything.

But it was the collection of broken butterflies around him that made her pause. Itachi was sitting silently, fingers streaked with yellow and blue, holding what was left of the graceful bug between chubby fingers. His brows were drawn together and his eyes gleamed with an expression she hadn't seen before. Examining the situation for a moment longer, she walked in his direction.

Itachi looked up and some of the quiet confusion faded. His eyes were wide and his lips moved into a pout as he regarded her. "Not working."

Setting down next to him, ignoring her own skirts, she picked up what was left of one of the butterflies. Itachi had systematically shredded the wings of this one, leaving behind the small body. It was still alive.

"What's not working?"

Itachi blinked at her and sighed, pointing at the bug in her hand. Mikoto studied her son for a long moment. He was looking slightly frustrated and his eyes were unhappy. Running her finger along a broken wing, she considered what it was that he had been attempting to learn. Before she could finish that thought, he held up a wing.

"I don't know how it works."

Ah. She supposed she should have seen that one coming. Itachi's systematic destruction of the flower beds, his attempts to catch the fast, small mammals that lived in the garden, even the way he had chased the small lizards to pull their tails off. The way he had shattered a cup to study the pieces. Itachi tended to take things apart to discover how they worked. He didn't ask many questions, preferring to draw his own conclusions.

"Is that why you pulled the wings off? To figure out how they fly?"

He nodded.

Mikoto reached out and took the wing from him and set what was left of the butterfly in her hand down, squishing its head as she went. Reaching down she picked Itachi up. He didn't protest, but he scrunched up his eyebrows in displeasure. Walking quickly, she moved towards the bushes she knew her son had stalked to gather his collection. Sitting down on the bench, she sat him down next to her. He wiggled for a moment but then stayed still.

"Watch, Itachi." Mikoto said calmly, pointing at the butterflies.

"Why?"

Mikoto arched a brow down at him. The expression on his face wasn't defiance, but it was stubborn. She tapped his nose. "How well did you learn about how they flew by taking them apart?"

He crossed his eyes to stare at his nose and then frowned up at her, considering her words. His chubby cheeks puffed out and his eyes were serious as he studied her expression before he slowly nodded and turned his attention to the butterflies that were still alive.

She let him watch for several moments, noting the way his eyes tracked first an individual butterfly and then several. Smiling, she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Did you notice how light the butterflies were?"

Looking up, he nodded again.

"That helps them fly. They're made for it." He looked a little put out but nodded again. Now it was time to teach him that there were other ways to learn. "Do you see the way they push the wind with their wings? It's just like the way the wind pushes up falling leaves. Were you able to see that before? Sometimes, Itachi, it's important to watch before you do anything else."

"Why?"

"Because you can't always fix what you break." She said gently. "What if there was something important and you didn't know about it? Then, after you took it apart, you realized it was something you wanted in one piece, but you couldn't put it back together again. It would be broken forever."

His eyes widened in comprehension. Then they narrowed a little. "So I need to plan first?"

Mikoto decided that for a three-year-old, that was more than she had actually expected. "Did you plan before you examined the butterflies?"

"Yes."

"Then it's not just a matter of planning. You have to know what you looking for." She continued to run her fingers through his hair. "Do you try to take a trap apart before you examine it?"

"No."

"What you must decide, Itachi, is if you can learn more from watching something, studying it or if it's something that requires you to take it apart. If you do take it apart, you must do so carefully and in a way that you can put it back together." _Unless, of course, you want to destroy it_. But she didn't feel the need to plant that suggestion in his three year old brain. Itachi would be able to take that step on his own.

His mouth opened in a silent 'O' as he understood what she was saying, eyes lighting up as his brain quickly processed that bit of information and began applying it everything he knew. She wanted to tell him that only nonliving beings could be taken apart, that the only time he could pull it apart in pieces was if it was an unanimated object or a jutsu… but that would be putting an unnecessary handicap on her son. It would mean taking away a tool that he might need in the future as he grew as a shinobi, and then later he would resent her for it. Understand why she did it, but resent her for it.

So she wouldn't. Better to guide his feet carefully down the correct path than to block the path off and let him find it for himself. Smiling she stood and offered him her arms. He considered her for a moment before one of his rare baby smiles crossed his face and he let her pick him up and kiss his cheeks.

He was still a baby and he would always be her son. She had time.

X

_Present Day  
_Konoha Village

Sakura pressed her face against her mattress and tried to suffocate herself. Reaching up with two hands she dragged her pillow over her head and tried to decide if Naruto and Sasuke would forgive her if she leapt off the Hokage monument. There was only one time in her life she could remember her head pounding this hard, and that had been during her early training with Tsunade and the fatal mistake of too much sake after a shift and no food.

This was worse.

Whimpering low in her throat she took a deep breath and somewhere between the sheets and the pillow, she smelled coffee. Cracking and eye open she worked up the energy to shift so she could take another less blocked breath.

Coffee. Life giving, blood capillary opening caffeine. It smelled real. Taking a third breath she slowly eased herself out of her blankets so that her head was resting in her hands. Carefully she began to catalogue her current predicament. Headache. One full body ache. The growl in her gut that said she hadn't eaten anything in at least the last fifteen hours. Chakra levels were ridiculously low. Cracking her eye open she stared at the clock on her night stand. It was close to six thirty in the evening which meant she had been asleep for the past seven hours, give or take.

She was in her bed. Both eyes snapped open and she jerked herself straight up and stared at the door that was just cracked enough to pick up the noises coming from her kitchen. Noises that suggested someone was in her kitchen and producing those life giving smells. Someone who…

Uchiha. In her kitchen.

Sakura groaned and let herself collapse back into bed. Not this. Not him. She was too tired to deal with him.

But still… coffee… and food… and if he was making it he would have no qualms about coming in to her bedroom and making her eat it. Her bedroom. Oh kami.

She rolled over and buried her face in her pillow once again. Had he been there since she came home? Where had he stayed? What had he done, unsupervised in her home?

Sakura's stomach tightened painfully, and the throbbing in her head increased with each thought. Well. She needed to eat if she was going to get any better. And if he was making food, she might as well eat it, if just to get the strength to throw him out. And if she was going to eat it, Sakura didn't want to have him feeding her in bed.

And the fact that that thought turned into a completely inappropriate direction Sakura blamed entirely on her exhaustion.

Besides, she was too tired for that anyway.

Using her arms as fulcrums, Sakura levered herself upright once again and vaguely noted that she was still fully dressed. Gross. But good. She didn't have the strength to kill him just yet either.

Running a weak hand through her hair, Sakura opened her bedroom door and made her somewhat hazy way into the kitchen.

He was moving a pot away from the heat of a burner when she finally located him. Adjusting the temperature knobs as he turned, his dark eyes scanned her face before slowly dragging down her body. Deciding to ignore him she let her eyes scan her kitchen for any signs of an explosion. Satisfied that things were still in one piece she swung her gaze back to him and was thankful her reflexes were too dead to jump.

"Sakura." He was standing close enough to hit if she had the energy.

"Why are you still here?" She was pleased her voice only sounded a little rough and was easily pushed off on the fact that she had just woken up. Never mind that she was almost squinting around the pounding in the back of her head. Warm hands settled on her shoulders and turned her around before she found herself ushered to the couch.

"Sit down before you fall down, Sakura."

"I am perfectly capable of standing, Uchiha-san." She glared up at him. He lifted a brow and didn't move. She narrowed her gaze and he watched her with an air of suppressed amusement.

"You could say please," she informed him before giving in and dropping onto the couch.

"Would you like one of your ridiculously numerous blankets?"

If she narrowed her eyes any further she would be squinting. "Are you making fun of my blankets?"

He didn't answer. Instead he slipped around behind her and she could hear him rummaging around in her cabinets. Reaching up to rub her temples she tilted her head when he appeared again.

He set down a mug of the coffee, a familiar vile, and a tall glass of water. "Water and medication first, Sakura. Then you may drink the coffee."

"I'm the mednin Uchiha-san," she informed him as she reached for the painkillers. "I know the drill."

His fingers closed around her wrist stilling her motion. Feeling huffy, she turned her eyes back to his and froze at the expression there. She was certain if she tried hard enough she could make out sparks of his sharingan behind his eyes.

"Sakura." He rolled her name on his tongue like honey and she swallowed. His eyes held her gaze before slowly lowering to her lips and she could feel his gaze like a touch and her lips tingled. "My name is _Itachi_."

Her mouth ran dry and she swallowed in the hopes to return some of the moisture to her throat. His touch was hot against her skin but his hold was light, so light she knew if she just twisted her wrist that he would release her. His eyes lifted to meet hers again and she just continued to watch him. She didn't trust her voice.

"Use it." He finished, releasing her wrist and standing smoothly. She watched him walk back into the kitchen. She wanted to work up the temper to inform him… she was too tired to figure out exactly what she wanted to inform, but she was certain it had something to do with his name and how she was not going to use it. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and returned to the medication. It was the stuff she kept in her pack for the field, which meant it would taste awful but it would work. She would need to eat a solid meal and drink plenty of fluids over the next hour, but her unwanted guest seemed to have taken care of that.

The medication was as revolting as she remembered. Pulling a face she washed it down with the glass of water before curling her greedy fingers around the mug of coffee and leaning back against her couch and taking a cautious sip.

Her fingers tightened on the mug when she realized he had added the perfect amount of cream and sugar. When had he seen her drink coffee? She usually preferred tea unless it was the morning after a mission or a particularly late shift! Closing her eyes she took another slow sip. She was going to strangle him as soon as the caffeine hit her blood stream.

Whatever he was making smelled… good. She wondered what he had managed to pull together from the meager ingredients she kept in her house. Like most shinobi, Sakura did her shopping for food on a day to day basis, and as a result the most she kept in her house was eggs, rice, a few vegetables, and some frozen meat. And, of course, ramen. But that sure didn't smell like ramen.

Her stomach rumbled embarrassingly and Sakura leaned her head back on the couch. Kami, she was tired. And hungry. If he hadn't been here cooking she probably would still be asleep…or on her way through her third protein bar as she stumbled back to bed. Or in the shower. Kami, she felt gross. She could practically _feel_ the stench of the hospital, antiseptics and blood, clinging to her hair.

Another hunger cramp, and Sakura took a sip of her coffee to quell it. Breakfast was very nice and all, but if he didn't finish soon she was getting up and going for her protein bar stash after all.

She took another sip of coffee and the pounding in her head receded just enough for her to crook her neck and stare balefully into her kitchen. Why was he _doing_ this? Her headache increased at the thought. Right. No thinking. Sakura took another sip and closed her eyes. She may have fallen back asleep or she might have just lost track of time, because before she knew it, breakfast was being set on the low table before her.

He had _arranged_ it. There was stir-fry and rice balls and tiny little pickles which she had forgotten she had possessed, all artfully arranged by color. There were chopsticks placed on the side of the tray and…

And really the only reason she was staring at it was because she had not expected him to be so proficient. Sakura was almost scared to meet his gaze because, exhausted or not, she could still feel the smugness radiating from him.

"Thank you," she said as she set her coffee down and reached for her chopsticks.

"You're welcome," Itachi settled next to her and she felt the weight of his regard.

Picking up a piece of chicken she popped it into her mouth and carefully chewed. It wasn't until she swallowed that she felt Itachi move to dig into his own meal and she wondered at it. Twisting her chopsticks around some noodles she slowly worked through her food. Why did it seem that she was always eating around this man? She knew the older, traditional families saw meal times differently than she had been raised with but… clearly her exhaustion was getting to her and she was reading way too deeply into things.

She had no idea what to say him right now. He seemed content enough in the silence but the way she could feel his eyes sliding over her was starting to become irksome. Picking up a rice ball she chewed it slowly. Damn. He really was good at making them. She slid her eyes over to find him watching her, a half smile tugging at his lips.

He reached over and tucked the hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear. "How are you feeling?"

Tired enough to want to lean into his touch, apparently. "Better," Sakura said shortly. He should know better than to interrupt her much-needed breakfast. Even if it was dark outside.

"Good," Itachi purred contentedly, moving his hand to fleck a speck of rice off her cheek. "Then how about you tell me what happened?"

She paused, chopsticks halfway to her mouth and then lifted then all the way. Chewing stubbornly she met his dark gaze head on and twirled another mouthful onto her chopsticks and lifted that when she had swallowed. His eyes narrowed just a little and she continued to watch him completely unconcerned at the growing gleam in his eyes.

She was not in the mood to be interrogated.

"Sakura," he started but she was grumpy and tired and she was _eating_.

Shoving a chopstick in his direction she glowered at him. "I know you weren't about to start interrogating me, Uchiha-san." Her tone was syrupy sweet and it made her teeth hurt but it was worth it to see the way his expression shifted. It wasn't startlement but it was damn close enough to assuage her irritation.

Then his head tilted and he was considering her the way she was fairly sure he looked at an enemy to take them apart. Except the gleam in his eye was warming her insides instead of giving her cold chills.

"Sakura," his tone was soft velvet. Gentle. "You are a capable, efficient kunoichi. Should I not be concerned that you stumbled home so exhausted that had the village suffered an attack you would have at the very least been unaware of it?"

Oh damn. He had to go and make himself sound all reasonable. Why did he care? She knew she wasn't hiding her confusion very well, but he was just watching her with that patient look all over his face and the sharp gleam in his eyes. Well, even exhausted she wasn't very fond of being backed into corners.

Setting her chopsticks down she straightened her spine and stared at him. When she spoke again, it was in her most formal tone. "Thank you for your concern Uchiha-san, but hospital protocol forbids me from speaking of matters that occurred inside the hospital walls."

His eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly at the corners and she saw something heat behind his gaze. She didn't see him move forward, but he took his sweet time in raising a hand to cup her face. "Sakura," he said in _that_ tone. "I am concerned for _you_."

And the warm chocolate of his voice combined with the focused intensity of his gaze and Sakura felt her defenses slipping.

"Not only were your chakra reserves completely drained, which goes directly against hospital protocol you are clinging to, but you were emotionally depleted as well. You are not a person I would wish to see risk their lives so carelessly."

She stiffened at his words, but he continued in that same warm, calm tone, "I am not asking you to break a confidence. I am not asking for privileged information. I am asking you to tell me what upset you."

He was asking her to trust him.

She wanted to turn him down, she wanted to lean away and shut him out and keep herself from him, keep herself safe. But… but he had made her breakfast. He had watched her while she slept. He'd put her safely to bed. He protected Sasuke with all that was in him. He'd pursued her relentlessly, and since the moment he'd declared her as a goal, he'd begun to wrap her life around him. True, she hadn't always _liked_ the way that he had inserted his presence into her life, but she had found their exchanges… challenging. More than challenging, she'd found them… enticing, electrifying, and… enjoyable.

There weren't many men who could keep up with her.

She didn't want to lose that. For however long he was going to be around, Sakura wanted to continue enjoy it. And this was far too much thinking for being so tired. It was enough to figure out that she didn't want to end this, and that is exactly what not trusting him would do. So she sighed and shifted further back into the sofa, removing her head from his grasp.

"I was called in for an emergency surgery last night." She murmured lightly. Something warm and then feral flickered through his eyes but she shifted it to the back of her mind to analyze later. "It ended up being the first of several."

He had settled back into half-crouch but his eyes never left her face as she spoke. It was a little disconcerting to have him so focused on every word she said, knowing that he was reading between the lines and interpreting everything she didn't say as much as what she was saying.

"It wouldn't have been so bad except several of the injuries were internal." She was for once thankful she didn't have to explain how much precision internal injuries required and the strain it put on her resources. "One required a great deal of organ restructure. With all the injuries we had coming in, many of nurses were pulling double shifts and some were even working on their third and we were still almost short staffed."

Reaching up she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Normally Shizune or Tsunade would have been called in to assist but they had been tangled up in Council meetings and had been going without necessary sleep. Tsunade herself had implemented the policy that surgeons not resting on at least six hours of sleep were forbidden from performing even emergency surgeries and the earliest they could have been of help was with Shizune's arrival that morning.

She lowered her hand and offered him a tight smile. "We had a breech in protocol. So I stayed until someone else could supervise."

"Any casualties?" He asked his voice still wrapped in melted chocolate.

She shook her head. "No. Although several of the patients were going to require intense scrutiny for at least today."

He nodded and just continued to watch her, eyes dark with something she couldn't read.

"When will you need to make your report?"

Sakura glanced at the darkened window. "Not until tomorrow. She won't even be in now. And I gave Shizune the necessary details."

Itachi _hmmed_ thoughtfully and, to her surprise, settled back against his end of the couch. His focused gaze had turned speculative, and Sakura took the opportunity to eat another rice ball.

"I apologize," he said.

Fortunately, he had waited until after she swallowed, but it didn't help very much. Sakura managed to choke on air. She coughed a couple of times. "What?"

The light amusement in his eyes did not affect the sincere intensity of his expression. "You told me to leave and I did not. I apologize."

For the first time in a very long time, Sakura found herself speechless. It didn't stop him from continuing.

"Throughout this… exploration… I have sought to honor your wishes. I allowed my concern for you to over-ride this resolution. I apologize."

She blinked. In the back of her fuzz-filled head, Sakura could think of plenty of times when he had ignored her wishes—except, a small voice piped up, every time you've asked him to let you go, he always has. It might not have been immediate, but every time, even though she'd known he'd wanted to continue, he'd let her go.

That… that was interesting. But she couldn't think about that now because he had finished assessing her reaction with those _eyes_ of his and was continuing to speak.

"If you allow our… association… to continue, I cannot promise you that it will not happen again. However, it is important for you to know that I will not proceed past the boundaries you have set until you wish it so."

Wha—what? Sakura shoved herself upright and stared at him, eyes wide. Itachi was—pledging to abide by her wishes? Apologizing because he had overstepped the line?

His pursuit of her had been honest; no one could ever say she hadn't been warned, and persuasive. Forceful. But if you considered the powers he had at his command, the sharingan, his psychical strength… He had also acted with remarkable restraint, especially after making it quite clear that she was something he _wanted_. Still, if this was him being respectful of the 'boundaries she had set,' she really didn't need to see him when he didn't feel like being respectful anymore.

And she had already decided she didn't want to lose him. So Sakura nodded, slowly.

He gave her a smile which warmed her all the way to her toes. "Good." Holding her gaze and reaching out, Itachi tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before standing up. "Rest. I'll see myself out."

Still too tired to do anything else but discretely pinch herself—was she _dreaming_? Had Itachi really just apologized and then—_left_?

"And Sakura," he paused at her door, turning back to fix her with eyes that fairly _burned_ with intensity. Sakura abruptly felt her stomach bottom out. "Fix your traps. Or I will."

No, she wasn't dreaming. He was still just as much of an arrogant bastard as ever. Sakura flopped back against her couch and picked up the remaining rice ball. But at least he could cook.

X

Shikamaru stared at the pile of papers in front of him. They hadn't moved in the past fifteen minutes. Neither had he, really. His eyes shifted to the _gyoku_ piece resting next to his elbow and tapped his fingers against the desk. Really, this was so troublesome.

He wasn't entirely sure what was worse. Being forced to deal with pointless paperwork explaining actions that no one but Tsunade would ever have access to or waiting for Itachi to show up to receive a verbal report _he_ wouldn't be satisfied with anyway. Sighing again, he stared at the wall and wondered how much longer he would be forced to stay in the tower.

He wondered if he could fit a nap in before his meeting.

It wasn't like Tsunade would even read the reports. She'd just call him in and have him explain it. Folding his arms on the desk, Shikamaru sunk his head forward. Itachi would come when he came. He was tired of doing reports.

It didn't seem like very long at all before some primal instinct woke him moments before Itachi's chakra signature entered the room. Shikamaru didn't bother lifting his head as he felt the unique hum of the silencing jutsu Itachi placed on the room. He was vaguely interested to see if Itachi would try to 'wake' him, but it was far more likely that the genius already knew Shikamaru was awake. And Itachi was on Shikamaru's list of Too Troublesome to Tick Off, so he stirred, straightened, and stretched.

Itachi was standing out of view in the window, half silhouetted in shadow. He didn't speak. Shikamaru blinked.

If this was going to turn into a contest of 'who was going to speak first,' he might as well go back to sleep. Except sleeping around the Uchiha had never been restful. It was more troublesome than it was worth to just ignore him. Sighing, he propped his chin up.

Before he could speak, Itachi beat him to it.

"What do your reports have to say about activity in the hospital for the last forty-eight hours?"

Shikamaru blinked and sighed, moving his head to glance at the endless reports that never stopped piling on his desk. There. Reaching out he yanked on the file with the blue tab and flicked it open. Better to just get this over with.

"Three ambushes. Two were ANBU units and one belonged to a team of genin doing minor field training. We have a few burns from misfired chakra."

"What breeches of protocol?"

Shikamaru arched an eyebrow. "Ichimaru Mai, nurse. Haruno Sakura had her turn in her badge and expelled her from the hospital. The details were covered in patient confidentiality."

Itachi just crossed his arms.

Shikamaru sighed. "Apparently, she tried to administer medication to a patient without consulting his chart. The patient was allergic, and the dose was large enough to kill."

"Ichimaru Mai is related to Ichimaru Michi, is she not? Danzo's assistant."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. He offered more information as a confirmation. "The patient was a Hyuuga."

Itachi's eyes flickered with something Shikamaru didn't quite catch. Over the years, he had learned to pick up a few of Itachi's tells and the relaxed, almost casual stance was worrisome. It didn't take long for Shikamaru to run through the possibilities behind Itachi's interest. Haruno Sakura had been involved and it appeared Itachi was taking a very active interest in the Kunoichi's life. He could already hear Ino's reactions to this and decided it would be in his best interest to avoid the blonde for the possible future.

Pushing aside the personal repercussions of the information, he leaned back. "You think there is a connection?"

"Mm," Itachi intoned in typical non-committal fashion, allowing Shikamaru to draw his own conclusions.

Shikamaru sighed. Yes, the fact that the victim was a main branch Hyuuga, some councilman's son, was interesting. Especially with the ties to Danzo and the fact that they were in a silent war with Cloud... Cloud, who never seemed to lose their interested in the Hyuuga bloodline. The death could have been written off as accidental, providing a glaring weakness in their defenses and potentially a fresh corpse for Cloud to experiment on. He could already feel the paperwork that was piling up somewhere and it was giving him a headache.

"You believe we have found our spies?"

"It is a distinct possibility. We already knew the breech was in a location not previously searched by ANBU. Her ties to Danzo are troubling."

"An ex-shinobi civilian with a grudge against the Hokage." Shikamaru said wearily. "While Danzo's loyalty is to Konoha, his agenda is skewed. It would not take much to find information about our weaknesses if his aid is trusted."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. "It looks like this will bear further investigation."

Shikamaru sighed again. He knew that look. It meant traps. "I take it you already have the bait in mind?"

Itachi inclined his head. "You will be apprised of the details."

So, he did have the trap in mind, and he was certain the Hokage would approve. Fantastic. Shikamaru brought up one hand to his temples and massaged with a groan. This just meant more work for him.

"You're such a bother," he dropped his hand and glared up at the other man. Itachi was just a walking paperwork _trap_. He narrowed his eyes, "Tell me, how was your picnic?"

The edge of Itachi's mouth kicked up and he leaned back. "There is a two hundred yard track of forest that has been… renovated."

Shikamaru hadn't really been expecting any details and wasn't sure he was happy with what he learned. His shoulders slumped. This was why he stayed out people's private affairs. "You can explain that to my mother."

Itachi looked nonplussed at the suggestion. Pushing away from the wall, he moved toward the window. "Upgrade hospital security as part of the new training procedures that our Hokage will demand after the breech of protocol. See what you can find on the Ichimaru's background."

Shikamaru sighed heavily as the Uchiha slipped out the window. More paperwork.

X

Sakura breathed in the fresh air of dusk and shoved her hair behind her ears. The evening market was her favorite time to shop. Early mornings were too busy, filled with the promise of the day and the need to hurry. Evenings seemed lazier, quieter, somehow more subdued. The smells of fried food and the laughs of young children mingled with the glow of lanterns as they were lit to combat the growing darkness. She hadn't been home often enough to catch the evening market in what seemed like months, and she was determined to take the time to get some air and time to herself.

Especially after the past few days, she deserved it. Clean up at the hospital was going to be a bit mind-boggling, but thankfully she wasn't going to have to do more than supervise the nurses. Well, once Tsunade took her off the imposed ban so she could rest and deal with the seals on the Akatsuki ring.

She still didn't know what she thought about Itachi. The fact that he had deliberately taken time out of his day to make sure she was all right… it was baffling. She had the slightly uncomfortable notion that whatever was between them was changing before she could put her finger on what it was they had in the first place.

Shaking her head, she deliberately stopped that train of thought. Tonight was to relax and to shop, and then later she would meet up with Ino. Then she could bounce what was going on off of her friend and figure out what she thought about the matter. Or at least get Ino's opinion. Her blond friend had a much better understanding of men (and men in clans) in general than she did.

Shaking her head, she deliberately stopped that train of thought. Tonight was to relax and to shop. Satisfied with her plan, she shifted the small bundles of packages she had already purchased closer to her body and strolled through the open stalls. She was very happy with her new brace of kunai. The herb bundles and small container of imported honey would make the experiment she was working on much easier. The hair sticks that doubled as senbon were more of a weapon than anything, but they were pretty and she had the coin.

Satisfied, she continued to stroll for food and keep her eyes open for anything in particular that could catch her attention. She had owned her apartment for almost two years now, but she was still looking for pieces that she could decorate with and there was the scroll stall that she wanted to hit and examine for anything interesting.

Since she was supposed to be meeting up with Ino at some point, she preferred to go ahead and get this part of her shopping done by herself. Ino would never let her shop for anything practical on open market nights. She maintained that these nights were strictly for the eccentric fun of the shiny baubles and exotic booths, but Sakura was a bargain shopper.

She moved along with the beat of the crowd, shifting along with the waves of people until she came to the scroll stall. Nodding at the elderly lady with the sharp observant eyes, Sakura knelt down and started perusing the scrolls from the bottom up. This woman had a habit of keeping the good stuff low to the ground, so people had to work to find it.

She was running her fingers along the scrolls, picking at the labels attached to the end so that she could read the titles when the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Her body tensed before she heard it, and she wondered if she should be thankful or worried that she was so attuned to his presence.

"Sakura."

Certain that letting the expletive which leaped to her lips drop was a bad idea, Sakura bit her lip instead. She wasn't sure she was ready to deal with him yet. She hadn't had time to think! She didn't bother to get up; she just shifted her head to glare at Itachi… and his mother. _Shit_.

"Uchiha-san, Mikoto-san. Nice to see you." Well, nice to see _one_ of them, anyway.

"Sakura-san, I don't think I've had the pleasure of your company since the chunin exams. Sasuke doesn't bring you or that nice Naruto boy around often enough." Mikoto said with an open smile.

After recent conversations with Itachi, Sakura wasn't very trustful of those smiles. She was a bit distracted from Mikoto-san's comment by the way Itachi's body tensed. Watching him from the corner of her eye, she tried to smile.

"I think it was around then," Sakura agreed. She didn't really want to touch on the Sasuke comment. Her friend was quite aware of the reactions either she or Naruto would have the moment someone said something they didn't appreciate. He was smart enough to keep them from being able to directly confront the idiots in his clan. Pushing those thoughts aside, she felt the stirrings of unease at the way Mikoto's eyes flickered from her to her eldest and back. There was a gleam in her eyes that Sakura recognized from Itachi all too well. _Curiosity_.

Her train of thought was derailed as Itachi suddenly moved, settling next to her on his haunches, fingers brushing against the scrolls she had just perused herself. She slid her hand behind her leg and fisted it. She refused to respond to the silent challenge and faint brushes of his body against hers in front of his mother!

"Are you looking for something in particular, Sakura?"

"Are you, Uchiha-san?"

His eyes slide over her face, gaze gleaming with something wild. "Perhaps."

Sakura refused to respond to the soft heat in his voice. She didn't dare risk a glance at his mother; instead she turned her attention back to the scrolls in front of her. She would not be rushed and she gritted her teeth together as he leaned his body to follow hers, the clean scent of his soap mingling pleasantly with the faintly bitter smell of aged scrolls. What on earth was he doing?

"Do you have plans for the evening, Sakura?"

"Oh yes," Mikoto cut in a tone that sounded like Sasuke, the one that always made her very wary. "You should join just for our meal. It's just Itachi and I this evening."

Well, wasn't that just _fabulous_. Now not only was she being _compared_ to his mother, she was being invited to have _dinner_ with his mother. Itachi was practically radiating smug satisfaction and Sakura was sorely tempted to turn around and clock him in the head. And she would have too, if she wasn't absolutely certain she would find her back pressed up against the scrolls so he could kiss her in front of kami, country and mother!

Her second option was to sneeze and accidentally form the jutsu to vanish, but then she'd _never_ get Uchiha Mikoto's rice ball recipe. And from the way his eyes were angled, gleaming with suppressed amusement, she knew he knew she was considering it. Damn him.

"Thank you, Mikoto-san, but I wouldn't want to intrude. It must be rare that you get a chance to spend some time alone with your son. I know he's very busy."

Something like approval gleamed in Mikoto's eyes, and it made Sakura uneasy. When she saw that light in Itachi's eyes, it usually meant she was about to be backed into a corner.

Mikoto's gaze flickered to Itachi.

"She likes tempura," Itachi said.

Sakura clenched her fists. _How did he know that_?

"Oh, _tempura_! Sakura-chan, you _must_ come. I know this little restaurant which serves the _best_ tempura. We'll go there tonight, all right, Itachi?"

The faint, underlying order in Mikoto's tone should not have given Itachi that smile. That sort of satisfied smug should have been illegal. Before she could work out an excuse – any excuse! – Mikoto was smiling and talking again.

"I need to make a quick stop over at the tag stall for Sasuke. I shall meet you there in say, ten minutes?" Mikoto asked, her eyes smiling at Sakura before settling back on Itachi. Reading something in his face, her smile widened and she moved around them back into the crowd.

Leaving her with an entirely too smug Itachi.

"That was _totally_ uncalled for."

Itachi eyes gleamed. "Was it?"

She leveled him with a disapproving frown. "I didn't tell you I liked tempura."

His eyes flickered with something hot. "I know."

She managed to keep from responding to that expression with force of will. Narrowing her gaze at him in warning, she turned back to the scrolls. He turned with her, and hot air brushed against her ear and the side of her neck with each breath he took. There was little chance that she would be able to concentrate enough to find something she wanted with him so near, so she stood with a suppressed growl.

Before she could step away from him, Itachi settled his hand under her elbow, holding her close.

"Was there a scroll that you wanted?"

"No."

His eyes were gleaming again, and when he shifted his hair slide against her bare arm. Goosebumps broke again along her skin. His fingers slid along her the line of her shoulders to her neck, and down her spine before the palm of his hand settled in the small of her back.

"Is there any place you like to stop, Sakura?" The warmth in his tone startled her into looking up at his expression. His face was set in familiar, neutral lines and his eyes were scanning around them so she couldn't read his expression.

She subtly shifted away from him, and his eyes lowered to hers. She froze at the expression there. Licking suddenly dry lips, she squared her shoulders and narrowed her own gaze.

"I am afraid I don't know where we are going, Uchiha-san."

His fingers brushed up her spine once, mouth curving into a half smile at her challenge. "You'll enjoy it."

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**Thank you so much for reading! Please comment!**

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	15. Taking the Bait

**Disclaimer:** We don't own them, we only torture them for our not-so-innocent enjoyment.

AN: Wow, once again you guys just consistently blow us away with your response to this fic. Special love and appreciation goes out to Trev-or who drew mini Itachi from our last chapter (SO CUTE, OMG), and to Shirsureok whose pen chronicled the start of Sakura's dubious flirtation with Itachi in chapter three. The link to both these wonderful fanarts are on our profile. In other news, we hope to be able to continue our practice of updating every week, but the upcoming months are bumpy for one of us. We will certainly do our best, but there may be a missed week coming up in the immediate future. Again-we're both so glad that you're all still enjoying this fic.

TL;DR: Thank you! You're wonderful! We hope you enjoy!

* * *

_4 Years Ago_  
Hokage Tower

Sakura braced herself against the bookshelf in a vain attempt to put one of the half-dozen scrolls she was returning back into place. Shizune had come in earlier to borrow the stepstool. She could attach herself to the wall and walk up but that seemed like overkill. Giving up with a sigh she twisted around to put the scroll back into the box for later when a loud, almost cheerful knock rapped against the doorframe.

"Oi, Sakura-chan!"

Her head snapped up in surprise and she blinked several times. When the smiling visage of Naruto didn't disappear, she managed a return smile. It felt a little funny.

"Naruto! I didn't know you were back!"

"Oh, well, I'm not. Ero-sensei needed to chat with Baa-chan about something so here I am!" Smile widening he curled the rest of his body away from the door showing off the small containers held in both hands. "I brought lunch!"

Sakura hesitated. "I'm supposed to be organizing scrolls and it's only…" She looked at the clock. It was close enough to lunchtime that she could probably get away with it, but her stomach was starting to tie itself into knots and she wasn't sure she could eat. This was the first time, other than Naruto's hurried goodbye, that she had seen either of her ex-teammates up close since that disaster on the bridge after the chunin exams.

"It's time for lunch!" Naruto declared, setting the ramen container on her desk before fishing two pairs of wrapped chopsticks out of his back pocket. "Baa-chan knows I'm here!"

Sakura flung a scroll at him. "_Hokage-sama_! Not Baa-chan!"

Naruto just grinned at her as he shut the door. "Come on Sakura-chan. I brought your favorite! Miso-ramen just the way you like it!"

She shook her head and moved over to the desk. She knew that smile. She was stuck with him until he decided to leave. Taking a calming breath, she managed another half-smile. "Alright, but we gotta eat fast. I've got work to do!"

'And I'm not sure I can sit in the same room with you without beating your head in.'

"Yeah, we're not going to be here too much longer and I still gotta track down Sasuke-bastard and tell him a thing or two."

She froze at the mention of Sasuke. It had been weeks and she hadn't seen him. Working hard on her expression, she struggled with her internal frustration, letting her bangs hide her face.

Naruto didn't seem to notice. "You know, I didn't expect to find you here."

Sakura looked up. "Oh?"

"Yeah. I wasn't sure where you would be, but Baa-chan said you were training with her." He grinned at her so hard that the corner of his eyes crinkled. "I'm proud of you."

She looked down. "Thanks." She wondered if he knew how he was twisting the knife.

"I always believed in you, Sakura-chan." He said firmly. "I know you're going to be great!"

Sakura felt a bitter taste in her mouth. This was the first time since the Great Naruto Bridge that he had said something and she _couldn't believe him_. She stared at her ramen cup. "Naruto… why are you _here_?"

"I haven't seen you in weeks! Why wouldn't I be here? I'd have dragged that bastard in with us too, but I couldn't find him." Naruto's confusion was evident before he banished it and tilted his head in a mischievous fashion, "Besides. This way is better, ne? You and me? It's almost like a date."

"Idiot." Even back in their Academy days, the word had never sounded quite so bitter. Sakura turned so that Naruto couldn't see her eyes. "We're not on a date. We're not even teammates anymore, Naruto, so I don't see why you'd –"

"WHAT?" Naruto stood up so abruptly, his chair fell down behind him. "What do you mean, we're not teammates anymore? Of _course_ we're teammates!"

Her fingers tightened on her cup and she gritted the words out between her teeth with the sudden rush of temper. "We're not a team anymore, Naruto. You and Sasuke _left_."

Naruto snorted. "I don't care what those old, decrepit Uchiha Elders think! Or what anyone else thinks! You don't stop being a team just 'cause you don't train all the time anymore!"

She shot to her feet and stared furiously down at him. "Well, what if I care?"

"What?" Naruto looked as if she had just hit him on the head with something heavy.

She slammed the ramen cup down, her temper snapping. Leaning forward, she glared at him. "I said, what if _I_ care?"

"Sakura-chan?"

She spun around and walked to the window, crossing her arms forcefully over her chest to try to contain the words that wanted to spew from her lips. Did he _just not know_? Was he really that _oblivious_ to how she'd felt sitting on that bridge, watching what amounted to her life as a _shinobi walk away_? Neither of them caring _enough to look back_? Kakashi-sensei hadn't even bothered to arrange for her to learn with someone else!

Naruto didn't say anything and so she dug her hands into her arms and stared at the people walking along the pathways.

"I like being a mednin." She swallowed hard and forced down the urge to reach out and shake Naruto and ask why. Why he thought they were still a team after leaving her with nothing more than an 'I'm off to study with the super-pervert!' and a promise to get stronger. Why he thought Sasuke would ever break free from the Uchihas long enough to join them again. Why he thought she should give a _shit_ about them after they had walked away from her and left her alone. A freak, once again. The girl whose team abandoned her.

Sakura felt hard, calloused fingers on her shoulders and allowed Naruto to turn her around. He was staring at her with confused, hurt blue eyes, eyes that she remembered seeing narrowed in determination time and time again. She didn't like seeing him hurting. He didn't say anything, but she heard his unasked questions and fumbled to explain.

"I like being useful. I like working here. I get to learn how to saves lives and how to fight." She set her jaw and stepped back, away from his grip. Kakashi-sensei had never taught her how to fight. Sasuke and Naruto had coddled her. Looking back, she realized she deserved every bit of it. What had she done besides throw herself at her teammate and worry about her hair and clothes? She felt like just as she was starting to figure things out, starting to learn, it had ended and she hated it.

"But… you won't have a team." Naruto sounded confused. "You'll be by yourself."

Her fingers dug even tighter into her arms. "That's not such a bad thing."

"That's crap!" Naruto shouted suddenly. Sakura's jaw dropped. She'd heard Naruto yell before, of course, but never at her. "You're just going to give up? Just like that?"

Sakura dropped her arms and balled her hands into fists, leaning forward and yelled right back. "I'm not the one who walked away! I'm not the one who decided Team 7 wasn't good enough! I even don't get to give up – there's nothing left to give up _on_!"

Naruto blanched and then his eyebrows drew in and his gaze hardened. He clenched his fists tightly and stared at her in determination. "I'm not giving up."

Sakura shook her head and hunched her shoulders, withdrawing from him. "You can't fight to keep something that doesn't want you."

"That's bullshit." Naruto snapped. His knuckles were turning white. "You always keep going. You never give up."

Sakura turned away. His determination and passion were wearing at the defenses she'd painfully constructed. If she didn't look away, she'd be tempted to hope again. "Why do you care, anyway? You're getting the training you need to become Hokage and Sasuke is getting what makes his clan happy."

"And what about you?"

"I'm going to be a mednin." She set her jaw and refused to tremble. "I'm going to save lives."

"Who's going to protect you?"

"I need don't need protection." Sakura snapped, spinning. "Not anymore."

Naruto glared at her. "I don't believe you, Sakura-chan."

"Stop calling me that and it doesn't matter." She swallowed and set her stance so he would know she meant it. "Team 7 is over."

"Team 7 isn't over until we say it is!" Naruto shouted back.

"Well, I say it's over!"

Naruto was shaking. "So it doesn't matter? None of it matters? The entire year doesn't matter? Everything we did to survive the exam and… and… you're just _going to let it go_?"

"You threw it away first!" Now she was really fighting back tears and she almost hated him for it. She had promised never to cry about the things she couldn't change again. "_You and Sasuke_ _left_!"

Naruto looked like she had slapped him.

"Both of you! You left me _alone_!" She curled her fingers tightly together, mimicking his earlier pose. "So now I'm going do _this_ alone, Naruto."

"No." He squared his shoulders. "I didn't leave. I… I… went on vacation."

She stopped, startled by the idiocy of his statement.

"Vacation! And now I'm back, but I gotta go away again 'cause I gave my word but I'm not gone!" He stared at her, hard and stubborn. "You don't stop being a team just because you don't train together all the time anymore! And we're _not_ just a team!"

"Then what are we?" She questioned flatly.

"Family."

She almost opened her mouth and said something but stopped. There was a look in his eyes that she had seen only a handful of times and always, _always_ when he was his most stubborn.

"_We're family_." He continued, stubborn. "Sasuke and you… and Kakashi-sensei… I'm not giving up. Ever. That's my promise."

She blinked hard and swallowed, but before she could talk he rushed on.

"You don't give up on family."

She closed her eyes. "Sometimes it isn't that easy."

"Yes it is!" He growled. "Sasuke needs us. That stupid clan of his will never let him be happy. They took us away! How can that help with anything… and you! You need us too! I know you do. It's not good to be alone, Sakura-chan. Why would you ever, _ever_ choose to be alone?"

Sakura swallowed. "I didn't choose to be alone. Sasuke left. You _left_."

"Bull. SHIT!" Naruto reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders again, shaking her. "I'm right here, Sakura-chan! We're still a team because I _say_ we're still a team. If you say we're not, then you're the one who's leaving!"

Sakura looked at him, and for a moment let his earnest sincerity soothe her wounded soul. This was Naruto. _Naruto_. He was an idiot, yes, but he would never, never intentionally hurt a friend. The fact that his getting stronger left her behind made it sting even worse.

"I'm going to be a mednin, Naruto." She said it stubbornly. "I'm tired of watching your and Sasuke's backs walk away. I'm going to be strong enough where it won't ever happen again."

"So get stronger! That's what you're doing now, isn't it? That's what we're all doing now! You're getting stronger and I'm getting stronger and that bastard's with Kakashi-sensei so he's probably getting stronger too. And then when we join up again—"

Sakura let out a choked laugh. "What makes you think that we will _ever_ join up again? Sasuke abandoned us at the first sign of trouble. He just walked away. He let them call us worthless after everything and _he believed it!_"

Naruto shook her again. "_I don't_. And neither do you. We've always known the bastard's clan was full of shit." He gave her a sharp feral grin. "Now we get to prove it. And we'll get beat it into his head too. I'm not giving up, Sakura-chan."

"Sometimes that's not enough." She tried to shift away from him, but he held her fast.

"Then we find a way to make it enough." Naruto said firmly. "You've gotta believe in us, Sakura-chan."

She stared at the boy who never gave up, never… who fought demons for her and who ate too much ramen and didn't bathe enough. The boy who was too big and too bright sometimes but was so silly and stupid she wanted to beat him. She wished sometimes that he was the other boy but… but he had left because she was weak.

She found herself wanting to believe in Naruto. Found herself wanting to find a way back. She couldn't do it on her own. In some ways, Sasuke was right. She was weak. Solution: Get stronger.

To do that… she needed help. She needed a teammate and she wanted… she wanted teammates. She always had. Those rare, wonderful moments where she felt invincible and safe in her own skin. Laughing as they stood on top of the water or the numbing, exhilarant knowledge that they were still alive. Together. She wanted to protect them.

"You really think we can do this?"

Naruto blinked and the smile that grew on his face started behind his eyes. "Yes."

"Sasuke… Sasuke is going to be difficult."

"You learn how to put him back together, Sakura-chan, because when I get back if he says no, he's gonna need the help." His smile was blinding but there was seriousness to his eyes that burned.

"How long will you be gone?"

He frowned, thinking. "Two years, maybe three. I gotta learn some stuff out there that I can't in here. How long you need to finish your own training?"

"About that much… what if Sasuke takes the exams without us?"

Naruto's smile grew wide. "You leave that to me."

"What? How? Why?"

"Just trust me!"

She stared at him, unsure before finally nodding. "Okay."

"What? Really?"

"Really."

"This is gonna be great, Sakura-chan! Just you wait! We're going to be Team 7 again! Believe it!"

She did. Somehow, crazily, she did.

X

___Present Day  
_Konoha Village_  
_

Sakura wasn't entirely sure what she had done to deserve this and she was torn between horror, amusement and a helpless sort of fascination. Ever since her first dinner with Itachi – and their subsequent conversation – there had been a faint, niggling curiosity of her own that had quietly been building in the back of her mind. She hadn't put a lot of conscious thought into it, but the relationship that Itachi had hinted at with his mother had seemed so different from the bits and pieces she had caught through Sasuke's eyes over the years.

And now she found herself eating dinner with Mikoto and her son. She was used to being around dominate, forceful female personalities thanks to her time spent with Tsunade. But her mentor was like dealing with a force of nature. Mikoto was all quiet observance and calm, glittering intelligence.

And she kept catching glimpses of Itachi in Mikoto's expressions. The conversation had been light, surprisingly pleasant and the only way to catch the undercurrent was to watch for those slight smiles and side glances that were conveying words she could see but couldn't quite catch. It wasn't making her uncomfortable per se… but the feeling left her wary, like a trap she hadn't quite realized was there and had already walked into blindfolded.

Itachi didn't speak very much, of course, but there was a certain almost indefinable softening of his features. Seeing him like this sent a strange and entirely unexpected warmth down her spine. All the same, she was much more interested in _observing_ their dynamic than in doing anything that would unwittingly set off the trap. Fortunately, the tempura was very, very good. No one could blame her for not talking if her mouth was full, now could they?

Mikoto-san had been filling in the silence with pleasant small talk, with everything from village gossip to speculation on the new blacksmith with the special kunai design. So even though Sakura had been prepared for the conversation to take this turn, she still almost choked on her tea when Mikoto-san shifted the topic of the conversation.

"I had no idea you and Itachi were so close, Sakura-chan," she said with a smile. "This makes it all the more deplorable that it's been so long since I've seen you. Of course, I've always been very grateful for your friendship with Sasuke, but my Itachi tends to be even more of a recluse."

Before Sakura had a chance to figure out how on _kami's green earth_ she was going to respond to that, Itachi cut in with that suspiciously mellow tone.

"I'm not reclusive, Mother." He shifted amused eyes to Sakura and let them warm considerably. "Merely selective." One of his hands had been resting innocently under the table and it shifted to lightly squeeze her knee.

Sakura took a deep breath and began counting down from 1001—make that her pet list of 1001 ways of killing someone in excruciating pain without evidence. 1001: Slow blockage of the arteries. 1000: Danka root. 999: Ruptured kidney.

"I see," Mikoto-san's voice had a certain ringing melody to it. In the part of her mind that was not on number 994, Sakura fancied she heard her doom in that voice. "So did the two of you meet through Sasuke?"

Itachi stiffened in a minute movement that she would have likely missed completely if his hand hadn't still been on her knee. Mikoto-san didn't miss it either. The corners of her eyes tilted up.

Interesting. Was there something about her friendship with Sasuke which _bothered_ Itachi? Sakura's eyes narrowed. She'd have none of that. Shifting in her seat, she crossed her legs so that Itachi's hand had to drop to the empty chair or else risk his mother seeing the angle of his arm. "Funnily enough, Mikoto-san, we didn't." Her voice was possibly a _tad_ syrupy, but she wasn't exactly trying to make Itachi miss what she was doing. She wanted to see his reaction. "_Uchiha-san_ and I were assigned to the same mission a few months ago. He's been kind enough to continue the acquaintance."

The line of Itachi's shoulders tightened and out of the corner of her eye, Mikoto's eyes widened just a fraction. The faint twitch of her lips spoke of amusement, but it was the growing gleam in Itachi's expression that left her feeling slightly giddy. Picking up another piece of tempura, she took a bite and clamped down on her amusement.

Swallowing, she smiled brightly. "After all, I've very close to Sasuke. Team 7 is... well, we've made it a point to stick together. Naruto made sure of that."

Mikoto nodded. "I know Sasuke has come to appreciate that closeness."

There were a number of responses that leapt to Sakura's tongue. Most of them involved the clan and none of them were polite. Before she could find something diplomatic and nice to say, Itachi subtly shifted, drawing the attention to him.

"Your tenacity is certainly… _appreciated_."

It wasn't so much the words, or even the warmth in his eyes, as it was the way the edge of his sandal slid lightly along the length of her calf as he spoke. That and the way she could positively feel Mikoto narrowing in on his words.

876: Extraction of the blood through a small laceration; 875: collapsing the femoral artery, 874: freezing the intestines…

"All the same, it's a bit unusual for a genin team to remain together so long. You've all achieved the rank of special jounin, have you not?"

Sakura tensed. She _liked_ Mikoto-san, as much as she liked any member of Sasuke's family, and she made _unbelievable _rice balls. It was obvious Itachi adored her, but if _anyone_ went after what they had fought and bled for, she would come after them with all that she had. They'd fought too hard to regain what they had lost, they'd become something _more_ than themselves, and _no one _was going to take her boys away from her.

She bared her teeth in the approximation of a smile and spoke lightly, "That's right. The council is refusing to let Naruto take the jounin test until he's demonstrated a certain amount of emotional stability. We are all going to advance together, just like with the chunin exams. Tsunade-_shishou_," the reminder of just _whose_ apprentice she was couldn't hurt, "arranged a special test for us so she could send us out on more A and S rank missions."

"Ah yes," Mikoto murmured. "I remember that test; so much trouble to stay together. Sasuke had to fight Kakashi. So interesting that a man outside of our bloodline could master the sharingan to such a degree… but I digress. I find it interesting, Sakura-san, that the Hokage has such favor for your genin unit."

Itachi's attention was sharp against her senses but she paid it no mind. Keeping a firm hold on her temper – insulting the Uchiha Matriarch would not do… _yet_ – she let her posture relax. "How so?"

Mikoto smiled. "You do not find her actions interesting?"

Reaching for her water glass, Sakura let her smile sharpen. "I find nothing unusual or interesting about specializing the training of the future Hokage."

Mikoto's smile never changed. "Not everyone would agree with your statement."

Sakura took a small sip of her water and set it down. "Which is why he has _us_." _Sasuke and her. _It took work to keep herself from baring her teeth and snarling. Itachi's eyes hadn't left her face during the entire exchange but she didn't care. If the Uchiha clan was completely against the idea of Naruto has Hokage, she had just set herself up as a barrier and she didn't care.

"Your loyalty serves you well." Mikoto said, smile warming suddenly. "It eases a mother's heart to know that her son…" her eyes sparkled for a moment, "that _both_ her sons have a place in your affections."

Sakura was thankful that she didn't have anything her mouth but it took work to keep her expression clear. Itachi's foot curled around her ankle.

"Yes," Itachi agreed in those chocolate tones.

752: Bone shards in lungs. 751: Aneurism. 750: Disruption of heart chakra.

This conversation was not going where she wanted it. In fact, she was fairly sure she had lost control of it somewhere.

"Oh yes," Sakura agreed, her tone heavy. "They certainly have a … _special place_."

She could feel Itachi's smug amusement and she wanted to kick him. Instead, she pulled out her most formal smile. She could feel Itachi tense the moment it appeared.

"Thank you for dinner, Mikoto-san, _Uchiha-san_…" She deliberately flicked her eyes to the watch on her wrist. "But I'm afraid I must excuse myself. Ino will be expecting me soon."

She went to reach for her wallet but Itachi's fingers curled around her wrist.

"Of course!" Mikoto said. "Itachi will be happy to escort you anywhere you need to go."

Sakura tried not to balk, she really did, but she wanted away from the Uchihas! "That really isn't necessary, Mikoto-san."

Mikoto waved her hand before shooing them away with a friendly smile. "It isn't a matter of necessity, Sakura-san, but manners. You must join us again sometime! This evening has been delightful!"

Sakura felt her protests dying as Itachi maneuvered her form away from the table. Without letting her put any money down for her part of the meal. She wasn't sure how she found her arm tucked into his or how she felt about the looks they were attracting, but she did know how she felt about _paying_.

"Uchiha—"

"You're our guest, Sakura." Itachi murmured, bending to let his lips brush her ear. "It would be… impolite to allow you to pay."

She grit her teeth to keep herself from asking if it would be _impolite_ if she punched him into Suna. She really didn't feel like putting on that much of a show for his mother. Instead, she smiled up at Itachi and bat her eyes slowly, "You are a _paragon _of courtesy, Uchiha-san."

She ignored the tightening of his fingers on her arm and allowed him to follow his mother out of the restaurant. Once they stood on the stoop, she turned up to him with a smile again. "I'd like to express my gratitude to your mother in the proper way, _Uchiha-san_. If you please…" breaking off, she stared pointedly at his grip.

She could feel Mikoto-san's amused gaze, and was aware that this, more than anything _she_ had said, was what convinced Itachi to let go of her arm. He let her go slowly, making her feel more that she was stepping out of liquid than that she was moving out of someone's grip. She took two steps away from Itachi, aware of the burning heat of his gaze as she lowered herself in a formal bow to Mikoto-san.

"Thank you very much for dinner, Mikoto—"

"SAKURA-CHAAAAAAAAN!"

Her eyes widened and she barely had time to brace herself before Naruto swept in, a flurry of gold and orange and black – and swung her up into his arms and around so she had to clutch at his arms.

"Naruto! I just ate!"

His arms tightened around her frame before he set her down, beaming down at her. Slinging an arm around her shoulders he dragged her to his side and pinned her before turning his smile to the Uchihas in front of him.

"Mikoto-san! Sasuke's brother! Bastard was looking for you!"

Sakura hit him in the side. "Naruto!"

Deliberately misunderstanding her words, he pouted down at her and pulled her closer. "But I haven't seen you in hours, Sakura-chan!"

Huffing, she crossed her arms and lifted a brow. He pulled another face and she continued to stare at him, foot tapping.

"Better let her go, dobe. Ka-chan… Aniki…"

Naruto gave a sigh and released her. Sakura peaked over at Itachi through her lashes. His face was set in stone and unreadable but there was a familiar expression in his eyes that made her swallow. Hard.

It was much safer to direct her attention to Sasuke… who was almost brooding. Both of his hands were shoved into his pockets and he was starring at Itachi with an expression she _didn't_ recognize. At least not as it pertained to being directed at his big brother… That sharpness in his eyes and warning – Sasuke usually saved that for enemy shinobi just before they got a chidori shoved up their ass. What…

"So! Sakura-chan! I thought you were hanging out with Ino tonight?"

"Sakura-san was kind enough to join Itachi and me for dinner." Mikoto said smoothly, looking rather amused.

Sakura wasn't sure what was going on here. _Something_ had changed enough between her boys and Itachi so that even _Sasuke_ was challenging him. Challenging him for _what_ exactly, she didn't know. She'd have to find out what it was later, but right now she wasn't above taking advantage of it.

"Yes," she spoke a bit too quickly, but getting these words in before the night had a chance to turn to yet _another_ unexpected direction was more of a priority than seeming casual. "And Uchiha-san was just about to escort me to Ino's. A matter of manners, of course. But now that you're here, Sasuke, I assume you can fill in for your older brother?"

"After all," she turned in Naruto's arms to face the increasingly still Itachi, "you wouldn't want your mother to have to walk home alone. Not when you're available to escort her."

"Good idea, Sakura-chan!" Naruto spoke with a wide grin. "We were just going that way anyway, weren't we, Sasuke?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. He walked slowly between his mother and Itachi to come and stand at Sakura's other side. "We could do that."

Mikoto continued to look amused. Itachi… Itachi was watching them with eyes that made her stomach flutter. She went to shift her weight in a silent signal to her boys when Itachi's eyes flickered to hers and she froze. The heat there made her pause. Slowly he studied her face before lowering it silently down her body before just as slowly raising it again. The edge of his mouth curled when her breathing sped up.

And then Sasuke had shifted in front of her and was turning her with his hands. She pretended that he wasn't solely responsible for holding her up as her knees tried to wobble.

"We'll make sure she makes it Ino's."

"Make sure you do, Sasuke!" Mikoto said firmly. "If this Ino is not there, escort her home."

"Don't worry, Mikoto-san! We're too terrified you'd take away your rice balls to fail in this mission!" Naruto's tone was cheerful but there was something underneath it that was… _not_.

Itachi didn't say anything. But she hadn't expected him to. That look had said enough, really. Swallowing, waited until they were a safe distance away before she reached up and grabbed Sasuke's wrists. "You are not frog marching me the entire way there!"

"Man, it's a good thing we showed up when we did! That crazy Uchiha looking at you the way Chouji looks at a bag of chips!"

Sakura spun around on her heel and thwacked Naruto in the back of the head. "_Naruto_!"

"What?"

She curled her fists and glared at him. He rubbed the back of his head. "Is that any way to treat your hero?"

"Naruto!" Sasuke growled. "Shut. Up."

They walked quietly for several hundred yards before Sasuke loosened his hold on her.

"You know, that bastard is going to be a little more stubborn about this than I thought." Naruto mused.

Sakura dug her heels in. "What?"

"Hmmm?"

Sakura reached over and fisted her hand in both her boys' shirts, dragging them both in front of her. "What. Did. You. Do?"

Naruto looked at her innocently and Sasuke just stared at her.

Sakura took a deep breath and released her hold on their shirts. This was Naruto. And Sasuke. She trusted them. "Is this something I need to know about?"

They both shook their heads.

"Because, if I remember correctly, a few weeks back, when I said I had a problem one of you said "No big deal." You said, "Just say no, Sakura-chan." You said, "If you date him, it's no big deal, Sakura-chan!" If either of you has done anything to make this more complicated than it already is…" she let her threat hang. They both blanched a little. There had been enough campfires and games of 'who-knows-the-most-ways-to-kill-someone' to appreciate her creativity without having to express herself.

"No, no," Naruto said quickly. "Everything is good here, don't you think so, bastard? We've got everything under control!"

"Fine."

Sakura eyed them and then nodded. "Okay. When we run into Ino, I'm blaming you two for being late!"

"Hey! How is that fair?"

X

Sakura sank into the couch at Ino's apartment with a well-earned sigh. Could this evening get any more complicated? Reaching up to rub her forehead she bit down on a groan. Maybe coming to Ino's hadn't been such a good idea… her friend would want _explanations_. But dammit! She needed to talk to someone! And since Naruto and Sasuke had obviously come down with a terminal case of Male Idiocy, Ino was probably her best bet.

"Hey, forehead-girl, are you going to help carry this stuff in there or are you just going to stare at the wall?"

That… he… damn him, with just one dinner and a look he had managed to up the ante. Like her brain needed anything else to process! Pressing her face into her hands, she tried to put her scrambled brains into some semblance of an order.

"Sakura!"

Instead, she found her brain going in circles. Just thinking about the way his eyes had burned clean through her as they left made her breath hitch in her throat. Every time she finally thought she was figuring out her own emotions he went and did something like that.

And she wasn't ashamed to admit she had wanted to go over there and… This was not helping her thought process at all. What she wanted was to figure this out in her head. She needed to figure this out in her head.

Ino set the tray down on the table with a bang and shoved her fists onto her hips. Her blue eyes were narrowed and her mouth was pursed in a classic sign of Ino temper.

"Are you ignoring me?"

Sakura blinked several times. "No… no, not on purpose. Sorry. I've just got a lot of stuff on my mind."

Ino's brow wrinkled and her posture relaxed. "_Finally_. Ever since you got here – two hours _late_ – by the way, you've been a space case. And why did Naruto and Sasuke drop you off?"

She sighed. "It's a long story."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh no, don't you dare think that you're going to avoid telling me why you're almost _two hours late_! You owe me, Sakura, for being a wonderful friend and waiting for you and putting up with your glassy eyes and zombie state. The _least_ you can do is tell me what happened."

Well, she had tried. "Fine."

Picking up a handful of sweets, Ino flopped onto the couch. "Now, what's up? Is this something we need to go track down the over protective behemoths on your team to help us with? Shikamaru and Chouji would try to help, but they would muddle everything up."

Sakura winced. "No. They're _already_ involved."

"Ah, boy trouble then." Ino gave her a considering look. "Does this have something to do with Itachi?"

Sakura looked away and nodded.

"Sakura!" Ino nudged her foot. "I thought you had decided to work him out of your system. Let him have his wicked way with you. How can you not have jumped him by now? I've seen that man in his uniform Sakura. Any man who looks that good covered in blood _deserves_ to get laid."

Sakura blinked at her. "You have? How did you know it was him?"

Ino gave her an amused look. "I have my sources and ways."

Sakura lifted a brow. "What did you blackmail Genma with?"

Ino waved a hand. "Details." She narrowed her eyes. "What I don't understand is why he hasn't jumped _you_."

"What?"

"Uchihas are not exactly used to not getting what they want, Sakura. Most especially clan heirs. I mean, look at Sasuke. Has he ever once backed down from something he considered important in all the years you've known him? I realize Itachi isn't sane and is rumored to love mind games, but even he is still a man!"

"Those are missions and team things!" Sakura argued.

"_Pssh_. How a man responds to missions is an excellent way for you to see how he responds to sex."

"_What_?"

Ino lifted a brow. "You poor little innocent."

"Ino, I am not –"

"I bet a month of mission pay that Uchiha Itachi gets off on a little violence."

Sakura snapped her jaw shut. She _was not_ answering that.

Ino nodded, satisfied. "Has he seen you covered in blood and panting over the shattered chest cavity of one of your enemies yet?"

Sakura felt her face turn red. "Ino! You make that sound so… so… dirty!"

Ino gave her a searching look. "And he still hasn't jumped you? Is he dysfunctional? Because that would seriously explain a few things…"

"Ino!"

Ino sighed, picking up a handful of sweets before eying her. "Sakura… Honey, you know he is in this for sex, right? I mean… Uchiha _heir_. _Clan_." She waved her hand. "They don't do long term relationship outside of clans. They just don't. I don't want you to get your heart broken."

Sakura frowned a little. While that was true, there were exceptions. Neji and Tenten had been in a solid relationship for years now and she was sure there were others. But then, Neji was branch house… and Ino was mostly right in her assumption that clan heirs married in the clan. Suddenly uncomfortable with how much that dismayed her, she tried to smile at Ino.

"I know but…"

"But what?"

"It just seems a little complicated for sex, Ino."

The blond tapped her fingers on the couch. "You do realize this is Uchiha Itachi and he can make bathing complicated, right? Right… Good. Now explain what you mean."

Sakura sighed and picked up a larger handful of the sweets before slowly explaining to Ino what had been going on. Edited. Heavily edited. The growing expression of disbelief on her friends face was more than enough as it was when she mentioned the sparring and the night's impromptu dinner. (That one she would have liked to have kept to herself but Ino would hear about it soon enough—Itachi hadn't exactly been _discrete_—and then… trouble.) His reaction to her exhaustion and the picnic in the Nara forest she kept to herself.

Ino was silent for long moments before speaking. "I should have picked up something stronger than tea."

"That's not very reassuring."

"Sakura, honey… I don't know what's going on between you." Her expression was miffed. "If Itachi was a normal, regular shinobi I would definitely say you were in a relationship. But he _isn't_… and we certainly can't expect him to follow normal rules."

Sakura sighed. "Thanks, Ino-pig."

Ino flicked a jelly at her. "Still, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy having him around."

"Does everything have to revolve around sex with you?"

"Sakura! A very hot, sexy, _elite shinobi _wants to get up close and personal with your inner vixen. Go for it!"

"It's… _complicated_. I can't just have sex with the man and be done with it. There's… too much stuff now. It's not like we're just trying to work off some mutual frustration or on some post-mission high."

"I just _heard_ all the details, Sakura. I fail to see the complication about rolling around a training field with Uchiha Itachi! The only thing complicated is your head."

"That's because he isn't stalking _you_!" Sakura growled.

Ino sighed sadly. "I know. Who knew he went for pink and large foreheads?"

"_Ino_!"

Ino pinned her with a look, her expression suddenly serious. "Have fun with him Sakura. You _deserve_ to have a little fun. Enjoy the chase. Let yourself feel for a little bit. Just… watch your heart, okay? You can't keep him coming around forever, wouldn't you at least like to get some fun out of it? Men like Itachi don't stick around for women like us."

Sakura slowly organized the jellies in her hand by color. Was Ino right? Was this some sort of crazy fling… if so, _why_? She knew he liked the game, the hunt, but this was taking it so much further than that. _He had invited her to eat dinner with his mother_! Or rather, his mother had invited her. He was making public moves now.

She wasn't sure Ino was right about this… she wasn't sure _she_ was right about this… but one thing _was_ clear. The clan. They _did_ have plans for Itachi. The subtle prodding this evening from Mikoto-san had reminded her of that. She was certain part of that had been concerned mother and part of that had been Uchiha Matriarch. She knew some of them were unhappy Sasuke was holding himself back for his team and now it looked like she was sinking her hooks into Itachi. She could feel the headache building.

_Yet…_ Sasuke had already told her that Itachi did as he pleased, regardless of clan wishes.

She was just going to have to deal with this on her own terms and Itachi wouldn't lie to her… he might angle his words to a truth she hadn't considered, but he wouldn't _lie_.

"Hey, Sakura?" Ino's words cut through her thought process. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She smiled. "Thanks Ino."

Blue eyes studied her for a long moment before she grinned. "Good. So how does he kiss?"

Sakura swallowed wrong and Ino helpfully reached over to pat her on the back.

"Dying isn't going to get you out of giving me details, forehead-girl. Now, tell Ino. I want to know everything. Have you even seen him without his shirt yet?"

This was going to be a _disaster_.

X

Sakura flung herself across rooftops. Her senses were on full alert and the air was humming. The alarms in Hokage tower had sounded, blaring loudly and filled with enough charka undertones to rattle her teeth even as far away from the tower as Ino's apartment.

Sakura had only heard the alarms once before but the memory was strong enough to push her towards the tower as quickly as possible. Lights all across Konoha were flaring on and shinobi were boiling out of their homes towards their designated locations. Protocol. Genin were being ushered towards the academy barracks and a handful of Chunin were on their way for added protection.

Sakura was on standing orders to shadow Tsunade in the event of an attack and to act as her sensei's legs. Tsunade would be under heavy ANBU guard until the source of the alarms was neutralized but both she and Shizune would keep close.

It was going to be a long night. Checking the pouch of kunai that Ino had tossed her before they had left to go their separate ways, Sakura opted to go the traditional way up through the steps instead of the window. No need to take chances when she could feel the furious intent of the charka around her.

Especially since it didn't take a dozen guesses to understand what had happened. The village wasn't burning, and there was no sign of enemies gathered around Konoha's walls, but those alarms wouldn't be blaring if there hadn't been an infiltration. There were only a few organizations in the world that would dare such a blatant attack on Konoha and there was only one of those who they had recriminating evidence on. Swearing furiously under her breath she flicked her fingers through the familiar symbols to be admitted into the Hokage's office and stepped in.

There were two ANBU on either side of Tsunade's desk and another in front of the window. Their masks were fully in place and she knew at a glance that none of them were Itachi. Taking a deep breath – she would worry about _how_ she knew that later – she took her place on Tsunade's left just as the faint sounds of a commotion caught her attention.

The council had arrived and barged into the Hokage office in record time. Curious, but not as curious as the fact that they were not alone. Danzo had decided to hitch a ride on the council's coattails. She wondered if she would have to hold Tsunade back. And then she wondered if she'd bother, or if she'd 'slip.'

It would save them all a lot of future aggravation if Danzo met the wrong end of an enraged Hokage's fist.

Or would that be the right end? She was rambling inside her head, trying to drown out Homura Mitokado's dry voice. These council members were old as dirt and full of their self-importance and Sakura really couldn't wait for the day they were replaced.

"…status report on the attacks. We are quite concerned that the Akatsuki were able to breach our village security."

"And you couldn't wait until after the breach had been handled to express your concern?" Tsunade asked wryly. "And you brought along company as well. Fortunately, I am confident than our ANBU and jounin have the situation _well_ in hand, so I can hear what you have to say now, Danzo."

The elderly councilmen cracked open his good eye and studied Tsunade for long moments. "I am worried, Hokage-sama."

Sakura slid her tongue between her teeth and bit down in an attempt to hold her temper at the faint edge to Danzo's tone, the blatant grandstanding and broad implications to his words. There was no love between her sensei and the war hawk and there was even less concern between him and some of the stronger clans. His dissatisfaction with the clans and the lack of perceived military might was well known even outside of the council.

"You have many concerns," Tsunade pointed out, eyes hard. "What could possibly be important enough that you feel that now is the best time to discuss them?"

The edges of Danzo's lips pulled in what might have been a smile on someone else's face. "I am a simple servant of the village, Hokage-sama. All concerns are of importance to me."

Sakura had to physically restrain herself from rolling her eyes.

"Be as that may, I have limited time for your antics tonight." Tsunade returned. "Either express what _specifically _is bothering you or remove yourself from my office."

Danzo gave a careful bob that might have been a bow. "Of course. I apologize for taking up any more of your time than is necessary, Hokage-sama. My concerns tonight are not of anything new. The attack tonight has clearly demonstrated a lack of care and guard by certain factions of our village."

Sakura stilled at the implications in his words.

"How so?"

Danzo made a delicate move with his hand. "As I have stated in the past. We rely too heavily on certain clans for our defense and tonight has only managed to showcase such weaknesses. It is obvious that something must be done and that we must start at the basic level of our defense."

Sakura stared at him. Surely he wasn't stupid enough to take on the police force, and in the process, the Uchiha Clan? Keeping her eyes firmly ahead, Sakura didn't dare look at her sensei. Of course, since the police were run by the clan it was a powerful force that Danzo had as of yet been unable to infiltrate, and Sakura could understand the old man's frustration. Such a blatant political move after an attack was daring. If he managed to affix the blame firmly onto the police force, he would be given a foothold; if not... The Uchiha clan was a political force and a dangerous one. Antagonizing them unnecessarily was not wise.

"I see." Tsunade leaned back and studied the elder. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

Danzo gave another one of those bobs. "It is a simple proposition, Hokage-sama. Our police force requires new blood."

"Is that so, Danzo?"

Sakura was thankful that her body was so carefully trained not to flinch. How long had he been standing there? Sliding her eyes over, Sakura swallowed at the lack of expression on his face. His body was relaxed, hands loose at his sides, but there was a gleam in his eyes that sent ice down her spine.

The atmosphere in the room went from tense to downright inflammatory. Sakura glanced from Itachi to Tsunade, hoping to take a clue from her shishou. Tsunade had crossed her arms under her breasts and leaned back in her chair, a faint, anticipatory smile on her face.

Fantastic. Kami, since when did she have to be the mature one? Where was Shizune when she needed her?

But Itachi was moving towards Danzo like liquid metal, and there was a wild, untamed force that increased with each step he took. He wasn't unleashing his chakra; it was just the weight of his presence that preceded him. Sakura gulped.

Itachi stopped at the precise corner of Tsunade's desk directly opposite to Danzo. "And I suppose you have a good idea about where she would find those replacements, hn? Handpicked, even?"

Danzo made another motion with his hand. "I would be honored to serve my village in any endeavor, by any means necessary. If my experience in the field could lend assistance to such a task, who am I to question the wisdom of such a move?"

One side of Itachi's mouth kicked up and there was something predatory in the way he was watching Danzo. "'By any means necessary,'" Itachi repeated softly. "What experience exactly do you speak of?"

"My past speaks for itself, Uchiha-san." He spread his good hand wide. "I meant no insult to your clan. I am merely a concerned citizen who wishes for my village to live up to its potential. Such events as tonight are causes for concern and I offer my assistance freely to any who wish for it."

"To any who wish for it, hmm?" Itachi deliberately cut his eyes towards Danzo's assistant. Ichimaru Michi was a quiet, unassuming man who stood at the proper distance and angle from his superior, alert and attentive with an unassuming manor. Meeting Danzo's gaze once again, Itachi spoke with quiet deliberation, "I am sure that there is no one here who would question your _loyalty_, Danzo. Just as no one here would question the value of your _experience_. Some might, however, wonder at the wisdom of your current course of action."

Danzo did not register any form of response to Itachi's words, he simply pasted on a mild smile, and "I am only trying to do what I can to help Konoha in her time of need."

Itachi smiled a shark's smile, "I'm sure your… generosity is noted. Since this matter deals with the Uchiha clan's purveyance, I will make you an offer, Danzo. When one of your handpicked recruits can defeat me in a trial witnessed by the council, the Uchiha clan will consider your generous offer. In the meantime, I have a report to make to the Hokage. A citizen, however concerned, is not privy to these matters. Unless you would like me to come back later, Tsunade-san."

Itachi shifted and faced Tsunade, dismissing Danzo completely from his sight. Sakura saw the old man's remaining hand tighten into a fist.

"Entertaining as this exchange is," Tsunade spoke just as Danzo opened his mouth, "We do have other things to deal with. Right now hearing your report is my priority."

Koharu Utatane crossed her arms, "We would like to stay."

"That's nice," Tsunade said. "Do you need a guard to escort you safely home? The village _has _just been attacked, after all."

Danzo gave a slight bob. "Hokage-sama…" There was an edge to the man's voice. A note that rang hard against his previously polite tones. There was a threat there. Sakura watched the ANBU at the door shift, their masks gleaming in the light.

Itachi turned. His eyes glittered. "If you are concerned about your safety, Danzo, with Hokage-sama's permission I would be pleased to escort such an esteemed citizen."

Danzo stiffed.

"Or," Itachi continued, his voice wrapped in smooth velvet. "I would be willing to send for an escort of our finest police officers."

"You're not even part of the force," Danzo grated out.

Tsunade made a noise in the back of her throat. "I know I don't have to remind you all that we were just attacked and that Uchiha Itachi is not the only shinobi who must make reports. I will have some ANBU escort you all safely home. _Immediately_."

Sakura kept her eyes on the councilmen and Danzo until they had been escorted safely from the room before returning her gaze to Itachi. The rest of the ANBU squad slipped out of the room but Sakura could feel the echoes of their chakra. Close. Itachi was watching Tsunade with an almost exasperated expression.

"You should allow me to kill him."

Tsunade gave a wry smile. "Tempting, but no. He has his useful moments. What do you have for me?"

The pleased gleam in his eyes was almost sharingan bright. "The trap is set."

* * *

_**Thank you for reading! Please comment!**_


	16. Strategic Placement

**Disclaimer**: The manga, the anime, and even the plushies all belong to someone else.

AN: Thank you for your patience this past week. We really appreciate your continued support for this story and hope you enjoy this chapter. But first SPECIAL PROPS must go out to LOVEMATTERS who made 'The Way of the Wind' a totally kickarse, perfectly on spot, absolutely LOVELY youtube trailer. You should stop reading this AN right now and go watch it. The link's in our profile. And if you're still reading it, we just want to say, again, THANK YOU, reviewers. You help keep this story alive.

Without further words: Enjoy.

* * *

_10 and ½ years earlier  
_Uchiha Compound

Even the sense of accomplishment from completing his first mission that had required an extended stay away from Konoha wasn't enough to take the edge off his exhaustion. Itachi slid silently through the back doors, careful to adjust to his surroundings before removing his sandals. Only when he had shut the door behind him did he relax enough to roll his shoulders. Home was safe enough. It didn't take long before he was pulling out the leftovers from dinner that his ka-chan had put aside for him. Finding rice, fish, Tsukemono and Ume-zuke, he collected the meal and moved into his room to eat quickly before heading off to the furo to soak.

Pausing outside of his room, he considered the light he could just make out under his brother's door. Sasuke had started the Academy today. While he didn't doubt that his brother had been up the night before too excited to sleep, he should have already given into exhaustion. It was late. The only reason he hadn't made it home before nightfall was due to that damn Inuzuka and her inexcusable ways of attracting trouble.

Setting the food inside his door, he moved soundlessly down the hall. Looking for chakra would give his presence away and he didn't want to be seen. Yet.

"You did well today, Sasuke."

"Thank you, oto-chan!"

Itachi narrowed his eyes. Fugaku. What exactly did his unfortunate oto-san want with his baby brother? He was well aware that the clan was already sniffing at his brother's heels, hoping to manipulate Sasuke where they had failed with Itachi. In his brother's yet uncharted potential, they hoped to find his match, possibly even the strength to surpass him, all the while keeping Sasuke soft and malleable to their demands.

He was equally well aware that thus far their ambitions had been thwarted, through no skill or cunning of Sasuke's own. On the contrary, it was exactly the opposite. Although Sasuke was a skilled shinobi, well advanced beyond any of his peers as to be expected of his younger brother, Itachi knew that at Sasuke's age he had already been considered a candidate for ANBU training. In comparison his brother's genius seemed relatively normal, and the clan elders had to be gnashing their teeth.

Sasuke's emotions were far more open, far more easily accessible. He still looked to their father and the clan for approval. He still ran around like a child and got into mischief… and was even caught more often than not. Clan was presented with a quandary—did they focus on maintaining that malleability or on destroying the innocence of his childhood in pressuring him to excel and surpass his older brother? Could they have decided on a tactic while he was away?

It bore careful watching, and was not the only concern he had with his foolish little brother. Itachi's eyes narrowed. There was the problem with Orochimaru. Itachi knew without a doubt that the crazy sannin was hunting his brother. He also remembered with precise clarity the suggestion that Sasuke's sharingan had even more potential than his own. Itachi was willing to see if that was true – if only to see if it made up for Sasuke's lack of ability in other areas. A stronger sharingan did not automatically mean a better shinobi… that was something both the clan and Orochimaru had failed to realize. It wasn't that he particularly doubted that Sasuke had the potential to become a strong shinobi – now that he no longer thought his own shadow was stalking him – but he did _not_ approve of the clans interference in his brother's career.

More importantly, neither did his ka-chan.

"The clan is looking forward to your growth as a shinobi."

"Yes, Oto-chan!"

"I expect you to make us proud, Sasuke. There is nothing more important to a shinobi than his clan. You know this."

Ah. So that was the game his father wished to play. Clan loyalty. Clan puppet was more likely. It was unsurprising that Fugaku had waited until now to have this conversation.

With Sasuke now enrolled in the academy, ka-chan would be taking on a more active role in clan duties. And with his missions and new genin status, the careful way they had watched Sasuke would be difficult to maintain. Difficult but not impossible.

The fact that his oto-san had waited for himself and his ka-chan to be 'away' before broaching the topic with Sasuke displayed a certain amount of sneakiness… and an utter lack of subtlety. Sasuke was like their father in that way. His foolish little brother preferred to hit something straight on instead of searching out the problem's weakness. He found it slightly amusing and slightly frustrating. Ka-chan had told him with an amused smile that it had taken years for Fugaku to learn how to read between the lines. But Itachi was hoping for better things from his younger brother.

"Yes, Oto-chan."

"Listen to me, Sasuke. The next few years will determine how great of a shinobi you will become. As you grow, it is important for you to listen to your teachers but never forget that everything you do must be in the best interest of the clan. You are our representative. We must never allow other clans to grow stronger than our own."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. He had wondered how much pressure the apparent brilliance of the Hyuuga Branch Member would put on his brother. So it appeared that the clan had made their choice – strength. They would pressure him to uphold the family name, to obscure Sasuke's progress with visions of the clan's name and pride, that nothing he did would ever be good enough if Sasuke allowed himself to be manipulated in such a manner. Clearly he would have to keep a closer eye on his brother.

While Sasuke had proven he had some self-preservation when he had chosen him as a protector, his mindless adoration of their oto-san would prove to be a problem. Silently shaking his head, he straightened his posture. The most he could do was to run interference until Sasuke had enough ground to stand on and then let him make his own choices. He would not babysit Sasuke like a toddler, but neither would he allow the clan to interfere in territory his ka-chan had already declared off limits.

No, he did not approve of the mindless propaganda the clan was attempting to force upon his brother through their oto-san. He did not approve of taking away Sasuke's right to make his own decisions and it was time to let his oto-san know that he was aware of the situation and where he stood. Deliberately letting go of his chakra, he slid the door open. Sasuke was sitting on his futon, dressed for bed and his oto-san was sitting on the floor. They both looked up at his entrance. Sasuke's entire face lit up.

"Aniki! You're back! You missed dinner! Did you know I started Academy today? How did your mission go?"

Itachi nodded at Sasuke before he turned his attention to Fugaku. "Oto-san."

"Itachi."

Sasuke bounced a little and Fugaku gave him a disapproving look. "Sasuke."

He immediately subdued. "Yes, Oto-chan."

Fugaku nodded and turned back to his eldest. "What brings you by, Itachi?"

Itachi repressed the urge to roll his eyes at the completely lack of subtlety. Instead, he motioned a hand towards his room. "I saw the light was curious if Sasuke was still up. I wished to know how his time at the academy had been spent while I finished my meal."

Half-truths. He stared blandly at Fugaku while he attempted to read his expression and discover how much he had overheard.

"Perhaps I should check in on ka-chan instead?"

Sasuke fidgeted with barely contained excitement. Fugaku hardly noticed, his eyes narrowing as he looked for the underlying meaning in his son's words. Itachi had no doubt that his father suspected that he had overheard most of the conversation and the subtle reminder of how drastically their ka-chan would react to knowing what Fugaku was attempting to teach the youngest had to be moving through his mind.

It came as no surprise when he nodded and stood. "I shall finish my conversation with Sasuke at some other time, then."

Itachi simply and turned to head to his room. He knew Sasuke would follow. Letting the edges of his lips curl in a sharp smile at the sound of Sasuke's bare feet, he allowed himself to go over Fugaku's facial expression.

His oto-san had weaknesses. There had been a spark of unease in his eyes at the mention of their mother… but more importantly, there had been something else when his oto-san had looked at him. Oto-san was afraid. Of either what he could do or what he would, but it was suddenly very obvious to Itachi that his oto-san did not know how to handle him. And that lack of knowledge made him uneasy. And that gave him a weakness.

Weakness that Itachi had no doubt was reflected by the council. He would have to consider the consequences of that carefully over the next few weeks and decide how best to handle the situation.

"Aniki! You wouldn't believe how terrible the other students are at throwing kunai!"

Until then, he would be careful in how much interference he ran. These decisions were Sasuke's to make, after all, but it would be interesting to see how he sided. He would have to be careful not to directly counter their oto-san's ridiculous words as it was clear Sasuke still hero worshipped their father, but Itachi had no doubt that the man would eventually ruin that as well.

He would simply make sure Sasuke had all the pieces of information he needed to make the correct decision.

"Is that so?"

"Yes! I am so much better than them! And the girls! One of them tried to _kiss_ me!"

Yes. He would be careful but he would run interference. It would be a challenge to undermine the council's authority without them realizing what he was doing… and he would.

Because Sasuke was under his protection and the fools had already forgotten that.

X

_Present Day  
_Konoha Village

The morning after the Akatsuki attack, Sakura shuffled out of her apartment, reaching up to shield her eyes from the sun. Tsunade had finally sent her home around three that morning and she had managed four hours of solid sleep. She wasn't feel sleep deprived, but after the adrenaline rush of last night she did feel slow. Thankfully, no one expected her until nine so she had spent the morning piddling around with breakfast and she even had time to enjoy a cup of tea before heading out the door.

They had stolen the ring. Itachi had apparently giving it back to Tsunade for safe keeping – why had she thought he had kept it? – and it had been heavily sealed in the tower. Yet… the member who had broken past their gates had known exactly where it was. Clenching the hand that wasn't shielding her eyes from the sun, she forced her emotions back under control.

After Itachi had left– _what trap… what did it have to do with the stolen ring or had he used the attack for something else entirely_? – the reports had seemed endless. ANBU members, Jounin and even the Chunin who had been in charge of the Genin had all needed time to report on protocol and personal reaction times; much less the reports coming in from the hospital on the condition of the men who had encountered the Akatsuki agents. Of the four guards at the gate, they had been able to save all but one.

Once they were conscious, they reported faithfully all the information they could remember of the man who had attacked them. The unknown-nin had seemed to merge with his surroundings with the use of chakra and had a large, plant like apparatus attached to his shoulders and head. One of the injured Shinobi swore he had heard two voices speaking, but it was unclear if that was a result of the head injury or an actual split in the Akatsuki member's personality.

Pausing as she waited for a group of civilians to move across the street in front of her, Sakura bit her lip. There was so much they just didn't know about the Akatsuki organization. And outside of the guards at the gate, no one at the tower had noticed anything unusual until the alarms had sounded. That was worrisome. How do you get from the gate, into the tower and then back out of the tower after you set off the alarms _without being seen?_ And now they had lost their only sure link to the organization and gained nothing in return. Biting the side of her tongue in an attempt to gain control of her temper, she forced her attention away from where her thoughts were heading. She and Itachi weren't the only shinobi working on their current predicament and right now she was too emotionally involved to make clear cut decisions.

She had more immediate questions. What Tsunade would want her to work on now? The ring had been stolen. Now what? Itachi worked best either alone or surrounded by his ANBU team, one she wasn't a part of. The odds that he would be reassigned back to active ANBU status were high. She doubted Tsunade would leave her to work alone on the project and that meant a return to her own active duty status.

That was only for the best—the problems with Sound and Cloud hadn't gone away while she'd been researching the Akatsuki ring. While she had been relieved of her hospitality duties, she'd still been keeping an eye on the charts and nothing could stop her from sneaking in to skim off the top of her paperwork so she wouldn't be buried when she came back. The number of 'mysterious' ambushes on genin and chunin teams were increasing. Now the Akatsuki had made a mockery of Konoha's security and if that wasn't an open invitation to launch a frontal assault she didn't know what was…

And with the thought that her mission with Itachi was coming to a close, other issues came to the forefront of her mind.

He had walked her home.

Somehow, he had known when she was dismissed and he had been waiting for her at the door to the Tower. She'd been surprised, and unable to shove down the jolt of pleased satisfaction his appearance gave her. He'd fallen into step with her without a word and she hadn't bothered to question it. The easy familiarity as they walked was… disconcerting on further reflection, but that night she had just felt… at ease.

He hadn't spoken until they were halfway to her apartment, and when he had, his question was a mild matter of clarification. She'd answered, and questioned him about the checkpoints. She'd wanted to ask him about what he had meant by a 'trap,' but Konoha's rooftops were hardly safe from eavesdroppers. This was a shinobi village after all.

He'd waited until she'd opened her apartment door before catching her hand. He brought it up to his lips, eyes intent, and planted a kiss against her knuckles before reminding her to make sure to set what 'pathetic traps she had.' And then the thrice damned bastard had disappeared.

Why was he so confusing?

If he was just in it for the sex, like Ino had suggested, surely he would have done something about it by now. It wasn't as if they hadn't had the opportunity, and they had come pretty damn close to losing control a couple of times. But each time she'd stopped, and each time he hadn't even pushed.

And if he was just in for the challenge, or whatever went on inside that sick head of his, why would he have tucked her in bed that night? Why would he have waited through the rest of the day? Why would he have made her breakfast? Why would he have let his mother back her into having dinner with them?

She didn't like things this messy. She was a medic. Her world had order. Uchiha Itachi was tramping through it with muddy shoes. Looking up, she pulled her thoughts back to together for the third time that day. She was at the tower and she needed to concentrate on reality and not 'what ifs'. Distractions could get a shinobi killed and while she might not be killed per se, Tsunade would flay her with words if she thought for one second Sakura wasn't paying attention.

She would worry about the Uchiha and what they _hadn't said_ later.

She had half expected to find genin and chunin bolting down hallways to deliver messages like last night, but things were relatively quiet as she made her way to Tsunade's office. As she approached the door she caught the faint murmur of voices and she was cautious as she peered around the corner.

"Shishou?"

"Sakura." Tsunade said, beckoning her forward. "I was just about to send a messenger after you."

Jiraiya smiled at her she entered the room. "I hear you have a complicated bit of sealing for me to look at."

Of course he would show up now that they had nothing more than sketches and notes to go on. Sakura let the way his eyes slide along her uniform go. The tightening of Tsunade's mouth told her more than enough about what her sensei would have to say him later; as long as he kept his hands to himself.

"Yes," Sakura said cautiously. Internally, she was cursing his timing. Why couldn't he have arrived yesterday? "But I only have one of the scrolls. Uchiha-san has the others."

"Uchiha-san?" Jiraiya murmured his tone interested.

Tsunade ignored him. "I sent a messenger for him. You may use the office at the end of the hall for your conversation. While the hall will be empty for another half hour or so I believe I don't have to caution you on keeping the door shut."

Sakura nodded. "Thank you, Tsunade-sensei."

A trip into a private room with the super-pervert. Fantastic. Oh well, at least Tsunade would understand if she had to put her old teammate through the wall.

She felt Jiraiya's eyes on someplace considerably lower than her back as he not-so-gallantly held the door open for her. A fist clenched. He would be out of luck if he tried anything. She had weeks of not being able to hit Uchiha Itachi to make up for.

He wasn't saying anything, and knowing his prized pupil as well as she did, Sakura was counting down the moments until the great sannin Jiraiya did something incredibly stupid. Shuffling her key ring out of her pocket she leaned over to unlock the door. The skin on the back of her neck tingled and she paused.

"Don't even think about it. If your fingers so much as touch me …" She deliberately let her words hang.

There was a pause. "So much pent up frustration in one so young! You really must let me help with that."

She turned and met his lecherous gaze with her irritated one. Calmly she opened the door and stepped aside. "Tell me, Jiraiya-san, have you ever had every bone in your body broken? At the same time?"

"Those scrolls sound very interesting." Jiraiya said, keeping a respectful distance as he slid into the office. "It is such a pity that the ring is no longer in the village."

Shutting the door behind her, Sakura motioned for him to sit on one side of her desk and she carefully stepped around him. Taking her place opposite of him, she unlocked the drawer she had stored the scroll in with a complicated seal.

"Such skill." Jiraiya said, eyes glued to her hands. "You know Sakura, I have been considering making a new heroine for my books and I believe—"

"No."

"You would be a wonderful—"

"No."

He sighed. "Perhaps—"

Sakura looked up. "No."

He folded his hands and gave her a pitiful look. "Why not?"

Sakura smiled lazily at him. "Because if I didn't mangle you into an unrecognizable corpse, then Naruto would."

"Good points." He muttered. "But still… such pain could be worth it under proper circumstances."

"What circumstances are those?"

Sakura lifted her eyes in surprise. She hadn't heard the door open. He was leaning against the door jam, his expression set in familiar lines, but when his eyes met hers they glittered with a mixture of amusement and heat.

"Sakura."

"Uchiha-san."

She could feel Jiraiya's gaze going back and forth between them and the hairs on the back of her neck tingled in that 'Naruto is about to say something stupid' sense, so it really wasn't a surprise when Jiraiya opened his mouth. "Such tension…"

Sakura snaked her foot out and yanked the chair out from under the Sannin. He grunted as he hit the floor and Sakura leaned forward and got in his face.

"Every. Bone. Jiraiya-san."

"Of course, Sakura-chan. I have nothing but respect for you! Perhaps now would be a good time to let me see these wonderful scrolls I have been hearing about?" His smile was wide and open, but Sakura had been around Naruto too often not to know when a smile was covering hidden lies.

"Stop trying to look up my skirt." She warned as she threw her scroll at him. He gave her a pitiful look, but pushed himself off the floor and settled back into the chair he had righted.

Itachi made a noise that might have been a laugh, but when her eyes lifted to his he was pulling two familiar scrolls out of his pocket and walking towards them. He waited until Jiraiya was opening them on the desk before looking back up and his gaze made the butterflies in her stomach churn. There was a greeting there. A greeting and heat and a familiarity that made her palms sweat.

For once, Jiraiya's voice was a welcome distraction.

"Tsunade said that the Akatsuki retrieved the ring last night?"

"Yes." Itachi replied.

Jiraiya nodded, his expression thoughtful. "The work done on this seal I have not seen before, although it has some similarities to the body exchange or cloning jutsu."

Sakura frowned. "I hadn't considered those."

"These lines here?" Jiraiya said pointing. "They are centered on a blood jutsu which appears to be tied very deeply into the centerpiece of the ring. Your notes state that there was a stone. I find that to be very interesting."

Sakura flicked her gaze up at Itachi but his expression was unreadable. "Why?"

"I have seen a few things here and there." Jiraiya said evasively. He tapped one of the scrolls. "Your idea that the rings are centers of their means of communication appears to be sound. This seal here and here suggest that is correct, but I am puzzled by some of the lines here. I have not seen them before."

His fingers moved over the scrolls to emphasize his points and Sakura shifted to get a better look.

"Not seen them before or just not in those combinations?" Itachi questioned.

"I have only seen something similar once and it was many, many years ago." For a moment, his face looked old. "Yes… a very long time ago."

"Where?"

"A village two days inside the border of Earth Country. There was a shinobi there who was greatly interested in seals and was working on a particular jutsu."

"Earth country…" Sakura murmured. She lifted her eyes to Itachi. "How do you think that correlates with our speculations about Cloud?"

Itachi crossed his arms and leaned his thigh against the desk. "We already knew that the components had been individually gathered. The treaty that Tsunade-sama provided gave little detail about the exact relationship between Water and Lightening country."

Jiraiya looked thoughtful. "Cloud and Mist have not been on good terms for a handful of years. It is likely that any information passed between them has long since been destroyed. I believe one of the Akatsuki members hails from Mist."

Sakura's eyes sharpened. "Are you suggesting that the treaty between them was deliberately ruined?"

Itachi shook his head. "It is likely that the Akatsuki member Kisame had some hand in explaining Mist politics, but without information on the timeline for the formation of the rings; when the members were gathered; or even how long they have been plotting before they came out into the public eye, we cannot say for certain. Although it is something to consider."

Jiraiya nodded his agreement. "We must assume they have information on all the great shinobi villages. It appears that they have members ranging from each village except Sand's and ours. Orochimaru's defection and the death of Sasori doesn't appear to have slowed them down. That suggests either the old fool gave them all the information they wanted or there is another way they are gathering information on our village."

Sakura frowned. "And we are one of the villages that they will certainly need information on."

"Yes." Itachi agreed.

Sakura cut her eyes over to him. There was growing, niggling suspicion in the back of her mind. The guards at the gate had done their best to slow the spy down, but they had been only Chunin against an S-class criminal. Unlike the normal Jounin or ANBU guards… and the reports that had been delivered suggested that most of the maneuvers had been responsive and not preventative. _Trap_. This was something she would have to consider later, when she had time to take it apart from all angles. Not now.

Jiraiya sighed. "I wish I would have gotten here sooner. The full extent of knowledge that the Akatsuki have on the villages is unknown. They are very careful to keep us unaware of what exactly we are facing in their organization. Even the information we gathered last night about the operative they sent to invade our walls will not have much of an effect on the way we deal with them. If we can crack any part of their communications then we can possibly turn it against them. And you say they knew exactly where to find the ring?"

Sakura nodded.

Jiraiya's lips pursed. "Then it is possible that the jutsu they use allows some sort of tracking. If we could reverse that process…"

Sakura pressed her lips together. Yes. Because they would be coming after Naruto one day and when that happened – Naruto, Sasuke, her – would be prepared. She already knew that Team 7 would be on the foregrounds of that battlefield and anticipation and nerves shivered along her spine. They would need all the help they could get.

"Perhaps the lead into Earth Country would be one to follow." Jiraiya mused. "I cannot remember all the details to the jutsu I mentioned earlier, but I might have an old friend who could have answers for you. Assuming Tsunade lets you go wandering."

Sakura laced her fingers together. She studied the scrolls, and quietly debated their chances of being sent on a long distance mission. Her eyes flickered to Itachi's face, but his gaze was unreadable so she turned back to Jiraiya.

"If you're sure that it's a valid lead… Any chance of cracking the Akatsuki's organization is one step closer to keeping Naruto out of their hands. It's a risk we cannot afford to keep from taking. The council may wish to play strictly defense, but Tsunade prefers devil's advocate."

She felt Itachi's eyes on her, there was something speculative in his gaze, but now was not the time to wonder what he was thinking. Turning her on her heel, she moved towards the door. "We should report in—"

She felt a hand pinch her bottom and spun around to face a grinning Jiraiya.

"Pervert!" she shouted, hitting him hard on the temple. A lump sprouted on his forehead and his eyes got swirly. "Just be glad I didn't use chakra."

She stared at him hard until he regained his vision and he reached up and rubbed his head.

"So much strength…"

Sakura pointed at the door. He sighed, gathered the scrolls on the desk and slid by her, muttering what sounded suspiciously like "worth it" and at her growl his pace picked up. Flexing her fingers in agitation she stared at his back before turning to Itachi and making a motion with her hand.

"I have to lock the door. After you, Uchiha-san."

He studied her for a second, his expression inscrutable before nodding and moving in the direction of Tsunade's office. To Sakura's relief he didn't attempt to touch her, just waited outside the office as she locked up and falling into step next to her as he had the night before. She was very aware of him as they walked. How she could almost feel his clothes brushing hers. How she wished she was a little bit closer so they would.

"… I warned you, Jiraiya." Tsunade's voice was scolding. "You're going to keep that lump until it heals on its own."

"Your apprentice has a worse temper than you do!"

Sakura exchanged an exasperated look with her sensei as she entered the room. "You're lucky I didn't punt you out of the tower."

Tsunade turned away, but not before Sakura noticed her smile. Shuffling a few scrolls, she turned back with a straight face. "What do you have for me?"

Itachi gave her a fast run down, his voice surprisingly neutral as he related the facts that had discussed. Tsunade's expression was grave when he finished and she sighed.

"I would prefer to keep both of you here. Are you certain there is no other way to track down this old friend?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes. I do not move as quickly as I used to, and even with her pink hair, Sakura-chan will blend in better than I will." He motioned to his own form with one hand. "I'm too well known in the bingo books. As long as Uchiha doesn't have to use his sharingan they should blend in well enough."

Itachi crossed his arms, his expression thoughtful. "Earth country is tricky, but it will be easier to penetrate than Lightening Country which is our only other option."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "If we can find any link to the Akatsuki that can be manipulated we need to chase it."

Tsunade's sighed. "It's not that I don't agree with you and Itachi, Sakura. The council is beginning to feel the pressure of the pending attack from the Cloud/Sound alliance. You are both aware that the numbers of genin and chunin injuries are on the rise. Our medical staff is shorthanded. I was going to put you back on rotation today, Sakura."

"Jiraiya said his old friend lived a few days inside the border." Itachi interjected smoothly. "Sakura and I can move quickly through Fire Country. We should be able to return inside two weeks if all goes well."

"If it doesn't you're looking at the possibility of a month or more," Tsunade pointed out.

"Yes," Sakura agreed. She gave Tsunade a stubborn look. "But if we wait for every disaster to sort itself out before dealing with the Akatsuki then they'll become the next disaster."

"Alright," Tsunade said as she sat, looking tired, "as long as you two are aware of the urgency of the mission. We will look for you in two weeks. Find out what you can about the jutsu; see if there are any other possible information trails to be sorted through later and return as quickly as possible. Itachi, I expect you to report in through the ANBU channels if you are delayed. It isn't yet noon, so you should be able to leave the village in the next two hours."

Sakura found herself nodding automatically before she realized exactly what she'd just agreed to: two hours before leaving on a mission with Itachi. With just Itachi.

Somewhere inside, her inner voice was cackling hysterically on the verge of panicked, maniacal glee. The way he had looked at her, the way he had touched her, the way he had worked to integrate himself into her life… all these things flashed to the forefront of her mind as she absently bowed and followed Itachi out.

Ino's advice flashed through her mind. _What do you want, Sakura?_

Her eyes narrowed. Well, what she wanted was to know where she stood. She refused to be a game for Uchiha Itachi. She refused go on what could be a month long mission with this confusion hanging over her. And she refused to keep running away. Like it or not, Uchiha Itachi was interested in her… and she was interested in him. She wasn't going to hide from that fact any more. She would face it.

Lost in thought, she had absently followed Itachi to the bottom floor of the tower, which was swimming with shinobi and civilians and potential clients of all kinds. They were nearing the front door, where they would separate to prepare for their mission. She had to clear this up before they left.

She didn't want to give him this. But if she was going to face up to the nature of their relationship… it would be the best way to let him know she was serious, the best way to get his attention. And it saying it here, where his responses were limited, would be the best kind of compromise. And saying it on purpose was far, far better than letting it slip out on their mission.

"Itachi," she said firmly. "We need to talk."

* * *

And there you have it! Sooner or later, you know she had to say it. But give in so easily so he can gloat forever? Not our girl!

_Thank you for reading! Please comment!_


	17. Find Me Here

Whew. Well, this chapter is a few days late, but since we gave everyone such a cliffhanger last week we felt it best to go ahead and get this out as soon as it was finished. Unfortunately, this month is going to be hit and miss for updates. It may be the end of the month before you see one from us, so we apologize in advance for the delays in updates.

A big thank you to and CleverBlue for the fabulous bit of fan art they gave us. Naruto and Sasuke's expressions are priceless!

Just Enough

Disclaimer: We're just borrowing the characters for a bit...

* * *

_3 Years Ago  
_Konoha Village**  
**

Ino tried not to glare at the broad back in front of her. The way Shikamaru's knuckles were almost relaxed, as if they hadn't been clenched white not only moments before. Kami, how she hated hospitals. It always took forever to wash the smell of super heated air and disinfected out of her hair when she left and nothing good ever came from the place.

"Can you get the door, Ino?"

She glared at Chouji's back but did as he asked. Moving around to the front of them, she flicked her hair over her shoulder, jerked the hospital door open and stared balefully at the dark haired man who didn't even bother to open his eyes.

"Thanks," Chouji was unfailingly polite, even as he was maneuvering their injured teammate into the hospital.

"I can't believe you broke your leg, genius," Ino muttered, trailing after them and wrinkling her nose in the sterile environment. "On a gopher hole, no less. This is so embarrassing."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Chouji sighed.

"I mean, you're the chunin. You're the only one who passed the exam. And now you broke your leg on a gofer hole? What kind of shinobi doesn't bother to survey the terrain? You'd better not say anything if anyone asks. I'll think of something."

Chouji and Shikamaru, used to this behavior, merely exchanged a speaking glance and let Ino continue to work herself up. Fortunately, before Ino had a chance to launch into how aggravated she was at the inconvenience of the thing, a nurse came over to check them in.

It wasn't long before the three of them were perched uncomfortably in an examination room. Ino pursed her lips in agitation at the way Shikamaru just closed his eyes and for all appearances, went straight to sleep. She swore he planned these things. She would bet a month's worth of mission pay he had seen that thrice damned gopher hole and decided breaking his leg was an excellent way to get some uninterrupted sleep.

_Ooooooo._

Chouji was completely unconcerned, fishing deep in his pocket for a small bag of chips. Ino narrowed her eyes at his as he started to crunch, loudly. Before she could erupt all over her – male, male, _male_ – teammates the door opened. Spinning around, the frustrated words that she had waited to fling at anyone died in her throat.

"Sakura?"

Startled green eyes lifted up from the clipboard. Ino gawked at her in shock. She was wearing one of those boring white coats that made everyone looked washed out and Ino watched as her knuckles whitened around the clipboard.

"Ino… Chouji…. Shikamaru…" she sounded a little breathless but squared her shoulders and gave them a smile that Ino didn't recognize. "I'm here to treat your leg," moving forward, Sakura checked on the IV they had plugged into Shikamaru. "Has the morphine started to work? Are you in much pain?"

Shikamaru cracked his eyes opened. Chouji crunched a chip. Ino exploded. "WHAT? What do you mean; you're here to fix his leg? I want a real medic in here and I want one now!"

Shikamaru closed his eyes. Chouji opened up a new bag of chips. Sakura stiffened and turned around to look at Ino very, very slowly. "I am a real medic. I've been 'fixing' broken bones for the past six months. You need to calm down and be quiet, or else I will have you removed from this room."

Ino's jaw dropped. Sakura just stood there, a white-knuckled grip on her clipboard, and stared Ino down. The tenseness of the moment was only accentuated by the Chouji's constant chewing.

Shikamaru chose that moment to groan. Sakura turned back to face her patient. "I'm going to insert my chakra into your body and ascertain the damage. I'll apply a local anesthetic before I set the break, but this will let me know exactly where I need to set it, and if there's any other damage."

"Stop showing off, Forehead. If you know what to do, just do it. If you don't, then go find someone who does."

The line of Sakura's shoulders tightened but instead of turning to take the bait – or even curling in on herself which she was prone to do – her fingers touched very lightly on the injured leg. Shikamaru cracked on eye open but beyond that remained silent as the girl worked.

Ino huffed in irritation. There was no need to be dramatic!

"Well, we're in luck." Sakura said with a faint smile as she pulled her hands back and reached for his chart again. "The break is in the shaft of the bone."

Ino pursed her lips. Shikamaru just nodded and Chouji looked disinterested so it was clearly up to her to make sure the girl knew what she was talking about. Tossing her hair, even if the gesture was wasted on everyone in the room, she stared at Sakura.

"Why are we 'lucky'?"

Sakura looked up. There was a stubborn glint in the girl's eye that Ino didn't really remember seeing before. Not that it mattered. Ino scowled at her and ignored the look Shikamaru was sending her. Someone had to protect her team from incompetence.

"Because if he had broken his Tibial Plateau or Tibial Plafond instead of the shaft the break would require something more invasive than simply realigning the break and stimulating the healing in the bone with chakra." Sakura paused, giving Ino that unfamiliar smile again—the one that said 'professional' and 'competent' and 'detached.' "I'm going to reset the bone and stimulate the natural healing with chakra. Do you have any other questions? Shikamaru isn't the only patient I have to see before my shift ends and I'd like to be able to help him without any further delays."

'_Yeah, I have questions. Who are you and what have you done with Sakura?_' Ino crossed her arms and glared at the pink-haired stranger across from her. "Don't screw up."

A muscle in Sakura's cheek twitched, but she just turned to a supply cabinet and retrieved a larger needle, a brace and some wrappings. Ino watched as Sakura assembled her equipment on a small tray beside Shikamaru's bed.

She removed the thin blanket they'd placed over Shikamaru's body to warm his body and prevent shock. "Oh," Sakura blinked. "I hope you're not too fond of these pants, Shikamaru. I'm going to have to cut them off you."

Ino had no idea if he was referring to the conversation going on around him, the broken leg or the fact that he was going to have to replace those pants. Instead of snapping out with the questions she could just feel burbling up – she had more tact than that! – she leaned sullenly against the wall and watched in tense silence as Sakura deftly cut the pants from the knee down and dropped the fabric in a trash bin.

Her smile was hopeful. "Not too bothered by needles, are you, Shikamaru?"

The crunching in the corner stopped. Ino spared Chouji a glance and sighed at the way he was holding his chips protectively, eyes widening. Flicking her eyes back to Shikamaru she was startled by the size of the needle that Sakura was holding in her hand.

"What the hell is that?"

Sakura never looked up from where she was measuring liquid into the syringe connected to the really… large… needle.

"Novocain."

Even Shikamaru was looking vaguely disgruntled.

"Why can't you just use chakra?" Ino demanded. "Are your reserves really that low?"

Sakura paused and then set her empty bottle down. Instead of answering, she smiled at Shikamaru again. "This should feel no worse than a kunai prick."

Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes again.

Sakura swiftly sterilized the area around his vein before expertly inserting the needle. Withdrawing the needle, she set it back on the table beside her. "It's a fast acting anesthetic, Shikamaru, so I'll be able to reset it soon. How are you holding up?"

Shikamaru's eyes flickered to hers and he just raised one eyebrow and sighed.

"So how did this happen? You were just out on a training exercise, weren't you?"

Ino straightened up. Shit. She hadn't thought of a cover story yet. "That's none of your business, Forehead."

Sakura tensed, shoulders becoming ramrod straight before she turned face her, "Actually, it is my business, Yamanaka-san. I'm required to report the cause of all injuries as a matter of hospital procedure. If you have a problem with that, you may take it up with the Hokage."

Ino hadn't heard anything past 'Yamanaka-san.' What. The. Hell. Where was the girl who would scream back in her face? Where was the girl who had proclaimed herself her 'greatest rival?' Where was the girl who—through it all—Ino had still counted as one of her closest friends? How dare she address her with so much formality! How could she?

Ino was astonished to find herself feeling strangely… adrift. Cut off, like she'd missed something important. It stung. One hand came up to clutch in a loose fist over her heart as she met Sakura's strangely dispassionate gaze.

"It was a gofer hole," Shikamaru's voice broke the tension in the room. "I was running," he inserted a sigh, "and I feel in. But I was going too fast and…" he sighed again.

Sakura paused from where she was reaching for his chart to make a notation. Ino would have hit Shikamaru, except he was almost drugged to his eyeballs by now. He wouldn't have felt it. She would hit him later. How could he just admit that he –

"Oh. Um…" Sakura blinked at him again before simply nodding and making a notation in his chart.

Ino could almost see the way her pen scrawled the words 'gopher hole'. Except, once Sakura got over her surprise, she appeared too simple absorb it. No amused smile. No knowing look. Just a placid sort of acceptance that melted into that professional expression again.

And it frustrated her. Ino prided herself in being able to read people, to find their weaknesses and to manipulate them. And somehow she had missed the mark with Sakura. This… seemingly competent girl was nothing like the person she had grown up with and it left Ino feeling betrayed. And angry.

Her eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms under her breasts and leaned back against the wall. Fine. She was a shinobi, and a damned good one. She'd assess the new situation, this 'new Sakura' and make the necessary adjustments.

Sakura had caught her attention when they were kids because she was so shy, so uncertain of herself, and because Ino had, even then, seen the potential in the girl to bloom. _How much better_, she had thought on some subconscious level, _if I am the one who causes that bloom, who nurtures it and guides it and prunes it so that it reflects what I think is beautiful._ After all, she did the same thing to the bonsai trees in the flower shop all the time.

Then Sakura had rebelled. She had straightened up and walked away and hadn't come back since. Ino had let her go; she had better things to do than chase after errant blossoms. And it wasn't as if Sakura had been much competition. Sure, Sakura had shown that she was smart, and sure, Sakura had been assigned to Sasuke-kun's team, but there was still no doubt in Ino's mind that in any competition, she would come out ahead. That conviction had been shaken in their chunin exams, when the two of them had tied, but it was easy enough to chalk the encounter up to freakish circumstance. Who would have guessed that there were two Sakuras? One was more than enough.

And now? Now Sakura had caught Ino's attention again, jolted her out of her world which was her family and her team and caught her attention in the most irritating manner possible. How could she have misjudged the blossom so thoroughly? What was she missing? Who had Sakura become?

X

_Present Day  
_Konoha Village

The eleven and a half hours after the Akatsuki had breached Konoha's walls had afforded little time for contemplation. Although they had taken all the proper precautions, it was still up to the ANBU captains to determine when and how the infiltration had taken place. His father, the head of the Konoha police, had demanded that the police be let in on the search and clean up, and considering Danzo's attempts to infiltrate the organization, Itachi had deemed it a wise move. His father was professional and competent in his position, however much his attitude made Itachi's head hurt.

Regardless, he had still managed to make the time to escort Sakura safely home—as safe as her apartment could be; the stubborn girl had _still_ refused to fix her traps. It had been a quiet walk back, and he found himself anticipating what was to come. Sakura had done an _exemplary_ job on the puzzle of the Akatsuki ring, what she would make of the pieces of information she had gleaned in relation to the 'trap?'

He had spent the night directing village security and was on Konoha's walls when a messenger had found him, informing him of 'Jiraiya-sama's' presence. Itachi's brows had furrowed—he had not seen or heard report of the sannin enter the village. He would have to investigate that breach later.

The meeting with the sannin and Sakura had fulfilled his expectations. Jiraiya's analysis of the seals had been fast and incisive, and the mission was exactly what he needed to have the final pieces of his trap fall into place. The fact that he would not be forced to relinquish Sakura's company was one which sent a warm sense of satisfaction curling around his spine. Two or three weeks with Haruno Sakura, alone? Maintaining the proper professional distance would be a challenge, but one well worth it. By the end of this mission, he would have her see, have her know, just how deeply he valued her, and he would earn her affection, attention, and wholehearted reciprocation in return.

His mind already planning ten steps ahead, Itachi froze the moment he heard _his name_ leave her lips. Slowly, his heart echoing funnily in his ears, he turned to face her resolute expression. Oh, she knew exactly what she was doing, using his name here, in public. He felt his blood rushing through his body and knew that his eyes had shifted, since every detail was Sharingan-sharp.

A feral smile curled his lips. She had said his name. Without prompting, of her own free will, she had as much as acknowledged intimate nature of the relationship between them. She had ceded him victory, but on her own terms, as she _knew_ he could not respond as he wished to her words in public. It gave him a rush of sheer, pride-filled appreciation and the deep overwhelming sense of accomplishment. This woman, Haruno Sakura, this strong, intelligent, vulnerable, stubborn, vibrant, infuriating, _beautiful_ woman had conceded to him of her own free will.

And now? Now she was all his. She had said his name. There was no place in the world she could hide from him now.

"_Itachi. We need to talk."_

"Yes," he said, approaching her with a smooth stalking gait, "we do."

He placed his hand on her arm and transported them both out of the tower.

X

Hana was frustrated. She was starting to wonder if Itachi's biggest fascination with Haruno was that she was almost bloody impossible to find. She knew, she had spent the past few days attempting to track her down. How hard was it to find a pink haired girl? She wasn't working regular hospital shifts, she wasn't eating meals with her two favorite teammates and she wasn't at any of the training fields!

She was turning out to be as impossible to track as her own teammate.

And that irritated her!

So now she found herself standing in front of Haruno's apartment, knocking firmly on the door, waiting for any sign that the young medic was home. After events of the night before she had hoped that the kunoichi would have been out late and gotten a late start for the day and her quick check that morning had proved she wasn't on active duty. The only place left for her to be was here.

Except it was becoming glaringly obvious that she wasn't here, either. Hissing between her teeth, she turned on her heel and was about to stomp off to force Itsuki to help her when she noticed a familiar blonde moving up the path to Haruno's door.

Yamanaka.

Ino was hunting down Sakura for only slightly less nefarious purposes than Inuzuka Hana. Their girl time kept getting interrupted! She had just managed to corner Sakura into talking about exactly how Uchiha Itachi kissed when the village alarms had sounded. It was almost like it was a divine conspiracy!

But Ino was determined. This kind of gossip—a clan heir, and a smoking hot clan heir at that—getting down and dirty with someone was always news. But this particular clan heir had chosen her best friend, and Ino was damned before she let the slightest bit of information escape.

Sakura might think she had gotten away from the 'interrogation,' as she had termed it, but Ino was there, and she was going to set up a time where the two of them could talk all about it or else she'd show Sakura just what a real interrogation was—

—What was Kiba's sister doing at Sakura's door?

Ino's eyes narrowed as she paused to take in the scene. Kiba's sister. Kiba's sister who was a certain ex-teammate to a certain Uchiha. How very interesting. If she was standing outside it mean that Sakura wasn't home. Pushing her frustration aside, she pulled out a blinding smile and tossed her hair over her shoulder in a smooth, practiced move.

She didn't trust coincidence and this was an unexpected golden opportunity.

"Inuzuka-san," Ino said as she sauntered forward with an open, friendly smile. "Are you looking for Sakura?"

Who else would she be looking for? "I _am_ at Sakura's door, Yamanaka. That would seem to be a logical conclusion." She hadn't been Itachi's teammate since their genin days for nothing. Was this blonde really as stupid as she looked?

If that was the case, this should be easy.

"Your friend's a hard woman to track down. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?" Hana gave the other woman a fanged smile.

To her frustration, the blonde simply blinked and tilted her head. Yamanaka pursed her lips and then finally offered a blinding smile. "Well, she was supposed to be here. I guess she's not. I didn't expect to find you here though, Inuzuka."

Hana narrowed her eyes, sensing an undertone in the girl's voice. "I have business with Haruno."

That smile widened. "Oh? Sakura is usually willing to help out when she can, but we try to encourage that to be limited at the hospital. Mednin's you know, they never know when to stop working."

Hana's smile grew. An attempted misdirection? From this blonde bit of nothing? It was all too clear what Shisui saw in her, and it wasn't her intelligence.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. I just wanted to talk to her about a matter of mutual interest." Hana prowled towards her. "Do you have any idea where she might be?"

Ino waved a hand airily around. "Mutual interest? I wasn't aware that you were so close to Sakura."

Hana snorted and decided that this avenue of conversation was over. Moving to slide around the blonde, she froze at Yamanaka's next statement.

"In fact, the only point of 'mutual interest' you would have with her would be Uchiha Itachi…"

Hana twisted around and stuffed her surprise at the blonde's boldness down. Finally, a chance to get answers! "So you're aware of their relationship?"

Ino snorted. "You would actually call it that?"

Hana narrowed her eyes. "Your words or hers?"

Ino placed a hand on her hip and stared her down. "Does it matter? Uchiha is a clan heir. You cannot possibly tell me this is more than some fascination on his part. As for Sakura… she's smart enough not to get her heart broken."

'_I hope… If not, well, there is a reason karma gave her those two behemoths for teammates._'

Hana quirked a brow. "Are we talking about the same Itachi?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Itachi has never in his life cared about what the clan thinks."

Ino buffed her nails on her shirt. "Oh please. Everyone within a clan cares about what the elders think, even if it's just to know how to operate within the rules and boundaries as they wish. I sincerely doubt your ex-teammate is any different. What I want to know is why you're bothering to nose around. You aren't teammates anymore. You don't have a working relationship with Sakura."

Hana grinned and stepped closer to Ino, on the verge of invading her personal space. "A girl has the right to be curious, don't you think? And you may know your friend, Yamanaka, but I know Itachi. The bastard would never spend so much time on something he didn't intend to keep.

Stepping around Ino, Hana held up two fingers in a casual goodbye. "Later."

Ino let her go, staring after her with narrowed eyes.

X

Of all the things Sakura had expected – his eyes, his expression, the smooth motion of his walk – getting transported out of the tower wasn't one of them. Staggering a little as her feet readjusted to solid earth, Itachi righted her easily and held her arms until her knees were steady.

Furrowing her brows she glared up at him. "U –"

His fingers slid over her lips, a light burning behind his eyes. "I'll let this one slip by on habit, Sakura."

She swallowed and shrugged her shoulder to get him to release her other arm. She needed a little space. He allowed it and the sensation of his calluses dragging across her lips made them tingle. Scanning the area, she was startled when she realized he had brought them to the top of the monument. Neutral territory and complete privacy. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she turned to meet his gaze.

His eyes whirled with the pinwheels of the sharingan and he was making no move to shut it down.

"Nice choice."

His smiled, slow and sharp and feral before moving. Slowly he circled her, his body almost appearing boneless. "Almost as well done as your choice of locations."

She refused to blush. Refused. "Thank you."

"So, Sa-ku-ra," he drawled her name in those chocolate tones, "what, exactly, did you want to talk about?

She gulped, and she could feel his attention to the movement. Why was it so hard to breathe? His proximity was clouding her senses, filling them with him, and she was finding it hard to think. He was circling her like a wolf, like a vulture, and that wasn't helping either.

She reached out a hand to his chest, halting his circular progression, "I am not prey."

Itachi's burning eyes caught hers and he reached his hand to gently grab her wrist, this thumb tracing her pulse point. Slowly, he removed her hand from his chest and brought her fingers up to his lips. "What are you then?"

His mouth was hot. Sakura took a quick breath, "That's what I'd like to know. We're leaving on a mission, together. It's obvious that there's something between us. What am I to you?"

"Sakura. I thought I had made that clear."

Her eyes narrowed. "Evidently not."

A faint light of amusement flickered in his eyes, and then he was close, so close that their chests brushed together with each breath. "You're mine."

And then his hot mouth was on hers, scorching her straight down to her toes. A hand tangled in her hair just above her ear, short nails scraping her scalp as he wound her long hair around his hand.

An eternity of heartbeats later, he lifted his head long enough for her to catch her breath and gasp out, "Not yours."

The breath from his soft laughter caressed her lips an instant before his returned. Nipping lightly on her lower lip he used her gasp to slip his tongue between her lips and search out the places which made her moan. One hand was slowly tracing down her spine and when it reached her waist his arm suddenly wrapped around her, bringing her close against his body and holding her up as he bent her over backwards, holding her face close with his grip on her hair, and intensifying his kiss.

Sakura hooked her leg around his thigh to support herself—she would not just be held up by him, and jolted at the fresh batch of warmth which rushed through her at the more intimate contact. Her hand automatically reached up to cup his face as she pushed herself closer and began to kiss him back just as intensely as he was kissing her.

He tensed and she could almost feel the motion before he acted, dipping her further and ripping his lips from hers. He removed his hand from her hair, causing her head to drop back, exposing the long smooth stretch of her throat. The sudden drop forced her to hike her leg up higher and she fisted her hand in his hair and forgot to breathe when his mouth made contact with her neck. Itachi began to trace a line under the sensitive skin of her jaw, nipping and licking and sucking and tension, hot and tight, was coiling in her lower stomach.

He used the tip of his nose to trace down her neck and bit her gently where her neck met her shoulder.

She gasped and he _mmmed_ in satisfaction. Her breath was coming in short, uneven gasps at the rasp of his tongue against the sting of his teeth and she was having a hard time filling her lungs. Heat rolled through her stomach as his wandering mouth and tongue took advantage of the cut of her shirt and nibbled a path to her collarbones. His mouth was hot against her delicate skin and she forced her mind to focus. Squeezing her eyes shut she took a long breath and pulled on his hair with enough pressure to create a small distance between her skin and his mouth.

If he kept kissing her she was going to let his mouth do whatever he wanted. As it was, it was taking a considerable amount of will power to ignore the urge to arch her back and give him access to anything.

"This," her voice was low and rough, "is not talking."

His breath was hot against her chest and she kept her eyes shut as it ghosted down the front of her shirt to tease sensitive skin. She knew his eyes were still sharingan bright and if she didn't get enough control before looking at him, she was going to give in and kiss him again.

"I think this is an excellent way to talk… _Sakura_."

His voice was as rough as hers and the way he rolled her name off his tongue in a slow invitation made her shiver. She had to bite down on the side of her tongue as she was reminded of how closely she was pressed up against him and the way she could feel the lean cut of his muscles through his clothing. He made no move to lift her to her feet or to adjust her position so she forced herself to open her eyes and tilt her head far enough forward to meet his gaze.

She swallowed at the way he was watching her. He was so close she could make out the individual tomoe of his sharingan. Her cheeks felt hot as she realized how and where he would be interested in using his bloodline limit off the battlefield and cleared her throat in the hopes to distract herself. The slow, amused smile curling his lips told her he had an idea what she was thinking.

"Talk. We need to talk. With _words_."

His lashes veiled his eyes for a moment and when they lifted the sharingan was still in place but some of the heat had faded. Slowly, a deliberate shift of each muscle, he straightened his spine. The motion lifted the foot still on the ground so that she was completely dependent on his hold and her nose was pressed into his neck for a heartbeat before gravity took over and she slid slowly down his chest. Swallowing hard she let her other leg fall away from his and wobbled as her knees tried to catch her. His hands were warm against her neck and spine as he steadied her and it was Sakura who took the first step away.

And then she took another because he was too close and his eyes were too hot and she couldn't breathe so near to him. She didn't dare retreat another step because his eyes were still sharingan red and he was eyeing her like a bird of prey and you did not show weakness to a predator.

Her blood was still rushing through her system, adrenaline and pheromones pumping along with it, and her exposed arms stung with the contrasting coldness of the air without his embrace.

Sakura didn't dare close her eyes, but she drew a breath. He watched the movement with interest, and awareness shot through her system along with a brief spurt of irritation. She latched onto that spark of irritation and held it, using it to lift her chin and glare into Itachi's eyes. She spread her hands slightly away from his sides and asked with a faint trace of exasperation, "What do you want from me?"

A slow, feral grin curled his lips and he took a step forward. When he spoke, his voice was deep and sent fissures of awareness though her. "Everything."

'_Everything._' What the hell kind of answer was that. "Itachi. Stop being infuriating. I'm trying to talk to you."

He stepped closer. "Say it again," he purred.

Her arms tingled with the urge to cross them defensively and she had to force herself to hold her ground at the heat in his voice. His eyes burned with it and he had lowered his eyes to mouth. To watch. She considered his request and leaned forward a hairs breath, silently challenging him. Part of her brain was warning her that this was dangerous, that now was _not_ the time, but another part of her needed this.

"Define everything."

His eyes wondered back to hers and she thought how unfair it was for him to have those eyelashes. His gaze smoldered with promises that made her toes curl but the smile curling his lips was faintly mocking.

"Curious, Sakura?"

"I think we're past curiosity."

"_Ah_." He murmured before shifting his weight forward so that his hair slide across his shoulder and threatened to brush against her chest. "Everything is _you_, Sakura."

The emphasis on her name was a slight goad but she refused to budge. "I never took you as someone who avoided direct conversation." She let her voice hang, deliberately refraining from using his name.

He breathed deeply, eyes flashing hot enough to scorch before he leaned in so that his hair was brushing her chest. The rest of him hovered a mere fingers breadth from own body and his lips ghosted across skin as he breathed his next words directly into her ear in a rolling purr that sent heat down her spine.

"I want _you_. Your passion. Your intelligence. Your trust. Your _breathtaking_ efficiency. I want it all. _Everything_."

Sakura stilled at his words. This was most definitely a little more complicated than sex. But she had known that. Taking a careful breath she concentrated on anything but the way she could feel him, muscles coiled to spring – body ready to react to her slightest movement.

"How long?"

She could feel the way his lips curved against her ear. Confident. Satisfied. She was playing into a trap; she could feel it, but surely…

"Always."

It took a minute for that to sink in. '_Always._' When it did, her breath caught and she stumbled back, automatically falling into a defensive position even though all he did was stand there and look at her with intent eyes.

He'd never said anything to her that he didn't mean. Sasuke'd warned her. '_Always_?'

The amused tilt of his lips did absolutely nothing to comfort her. She felt like she'd been backed into a corner and he _knew_ it, _damn_ him. The smug self-satisfaction she could see reflected in the way that he held himself made her want to deck him—the fact that to a stranger he would look completely impassive and look at how well she had already gotten to know him and wasn't it flattering were _completely_ irrelevant and distracting thoughts.

And she couldn't even ask him to clarify. He'd just reiterate that he'd been perfectly specific and he didn't think she was so slow and would she like a demonstration of exactly what that entailed and _damned_ if she made it that easy for him.

If he was angling for her heart, for all of her heart, if he was saying 'always,' then she needed to know if she could take him at his word. Uchiha Itachi or not, if she gave him her heart and he broke it, she'd tell Naruto. They'd never find the pieces.

"Be very careful here, Itachi. Don't make offers you can't back up."

His eyes went darker, and she knew his sharingan had increased. His posture was almost _indolent_ which indicated more than anything exactly how much tension and chakra was circulating through his body. "I never say anything that is not in my power to accomplish."

"Can you really propose 'always' with me without your clan's approval?" she shot back, halting his progression. "I won't be anyone's _mistress, Itachi-sama_."

There was a blur and then he was standing directly in front of her, one hand resting on the side of her throat, his thumb caressing a teasing line up and down her windpipe. She stiffened at the implicit threat and met his eyes.

"I would not ask for all of you without giving all of myself in return," he growled, hot eyes boring into hers. "The clan will accept my decision. I will marry you or no one at all."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Got it all planned out, do you? I don't remember agreeing to this proposal."

His chuckle was everything dark and dangerous. "You will."

The way he was holding her life in his hand, the dark, heated intensity of his gaze, his obsessive determination to have _all_ of her—logically, none of these things should tighten her stomach or send heat rushing down her spine. But Sakura couldn't ever remember being so turned on.

And logically, the worst thing she could do with his hand wrapped around her throat was meet that smug confidence head on. All the same, the corners of her lips twitched up. "You think you have everything figured out," she said softly. "And maybe if it was just you and just me, you might. But it's not. I won't marry into a clan, Itachi. Especially yours. I've seen what they've done to Sasuke. I want better than that for my children. I've seen what clan politics are like. I'm a shinobi on active duty with ties to the current and the next Hokage. I'm not going to have the time or the patience to deal with a bunch of old fogies who think that they have the right to try to tell me how to run my life and raise my children and decide who I should associate with just because I happen to marry into 'blood.' I won't do it."

His thumb had stopped moving halfway during her speech and he was staring at her with the absolute stillness which said she held his complete attention. It was almost intimidating, the focus she felt on her words.

He brought up his other hand to the other side of her throat and placed his thumbs on her jaw line, wrapping his hands around the back of her head and tilting it up so that she could not escape his speculative gaze. "Is that all which holds you back?"

And in the back of her mind, Sakura heard a trap click shut. She wouldn't lie to him. It would be cowardly, a weakness, and he didn't deserve it. She couldn't hide the way her eyes flickered down as she searched for words, and she knew it told him she was vulnerable, but he didn't press. He just waited.

Damn. Just… _damn_. The truth. To all the questions he wasn't asking. Her mouth was suddenly very dry but she refused to swallow. It was bad enough that she had looked away. Taking slow, very precise breaths she forced herself to think. There were questions there… underneath the underneath. A faint smile quirked her lips and she felt calmer. Could she love him? Could she trust him with everything, all her secrets and weaknesses… could she give him her strengths? Did she want to?

Was this decision even hers to make anymore?

He had boxed her in, led her feet carefully down the path but… she had let him. He was confident in himself and in what he was offering her; he was showing her the trap. The _endgame_. He wanted her. Sakura wasn't sure she had ever had someone so meticulous focusing this intensity in her life before and it thrilled and frightened her. He wanted _her_. He wanted her in his life and he was offering everything he wanted to take from her of himself. She… respected that.

If she said no… no, the question was… _if she said yes_. If she admitted that the only thing holding her back was his family, she was admitting that she could love him. That she was willing to let him into every crack of her life and to settle there. She was telling him that she wanted to know him completely and she wanted to be a part of every facet of his life. That she wanted his intensity and his insanity and his unconditional presence in her life. That she wanted _him_ to want _her_ in the same way. That she would accept his demands of trust and would expect the same in return. She would be saying that she wanted him to love her.

And the way her heart was hammering in her chest told her that she had already made her decision.

Lifting her eyes back to his, she met his gaze squarely. "Yes."

He was completely still as he absorbed her answer, hands motionless against her throat. Finally he moved, the utter stillness in his body cracking as he slid his hands down the sides of her neck and to her shoulders, down her arms before lazily sliding off her finger tips. The fine hairs on her arms stood up at the contact. Breathing a slow breath, he suddenly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was soft and unhurried. He made no move to deepen the contact and he made no move to touch her with any other part of his body.

He finally pulled back and took two, deliberate steps away from her. "Is there anything else that you feel we must discuss now?"

She shook her head slowly.

"Then I shall meet you at the front gate in one hour's time."

She nodded and watched as he disappeared in a puff of smoke before lifting her fingers to her lips and closing her eyes. She needed to get home and to pack, but couldn't make herself move for several long minutes. Itachi had all but proposed. She had given him what was just shy of an ultimatum. And then he had kissed her. It hadn't been a goodbye… and it hadn't tasted of regret. It had been warm. Soft. Accepting. When was this man going to stop confusing her?

Taking a deep breath she pulled herself together and snapped through the hand signals that would take her back to the village. She had a mission to prepare for. Everything else would have to be dealt with later.

* * *

**_Please Comment!_**


	18. Chasing the Illusive

Well, this is a little later than we had anticipated. Unfortunately, things are moving a lot slower than we wanted it to, so expecting our updates to be further in-between than we like. However, we are working diligently to get them out quicker, but the next few months are going to be crazy busy for both of us. So we apologize in advanced for the delays.

Thank you for your patience!

Just Enough

Disclaimer: We're just borrowing the characters for a bit…

* * *

_2 Years Ago  
_Konoha Village

Sakura opened her eyes to someone tapping on her window.

To get so close without waking her meant either excellent chakra control or familiarity. Since she had just gotten off a six hour shift and had just enough sleep to be cranky, even familiarity wasn't going to save them. The faint, familiar mutters as said someone apparently worked on the traps she had set for her window had her shoving the covers back.

The window popped open before she could clear her legs.

"I _told you_ I could get through!"

Sakura marched over to where Naruto was half-hanging into her room, grabbed a fistful of blond hair and jerked Naruto to her eye level. "Tell me why I shouldn't cut off your balls and ram them down your throat?"

Naruto smiled up at her, although his eyes kept trying to dip below her throat. All she had one was an old practice shirt she had stolen. "We're leaving tonight."

"Leaving _where_?"

"The Chunin exams!" he hissed at her before turning and glaring out the window. "Bastard! Get up here! Do you want to get _caught_?"

Sakura lifted Naruto out of the way, ignoring his swearing and peered out her window. Sasuke was slouched against a tree, the dark colors of his normal attire blending in easily with the shadows. But Naruto was right. Someone would see him soon. His eyes met hers and she frowned. He looked… tired. Tired and angry.

"Heard of knocking?" She whispered as she moved out of the way so Sasuke could crawl through her window. The anti-chakra jutsu she laid down on her walls was tricky for him but he managed. She made a mental note to reapply it and add a few creative nets.

"No one's supposed to know we're here!" Naruto muttered as he shut the window and yanked on her blinds. "Thank kami you don't live on the other side of the complex, without the trees."

Sakura stared at Sasuke, but he wasn't meeting her eyes. Turning to demand answers from Naruto, she scowled when she realized his eyes were on her legs. Turning around, she marched into her closet to find some pants. Or skirt. Something.

"Talk."

"This is a really girly room, Sakura. Doesn't hurt to have to so much pink?"

She stuck her head around the corner and glared at him. There was nothing wrong with her room. Even if most of it she had brought with her when she had moved out of her parents. It wasn't like she had time to worry about it, or even to bring someone who might be interested in her room over. At least the bed she had bought herself was done in neutral colors!

Still…

"It's going to be _red_ soon if you don't explain why you're interrupting my sleep."

Naruto cringed for a moment and then rallied. "We have to leave tonight!"

She flexed her fingers. "Why?"

Naruto pointed at Sasuke. "Stupid bastard's clan is trying to kick us out!"

"_What_?"

Naruto waved his arms frantically. "Keep it down, Sakura-chan! They might have already sent ANBU out to apprehend us or something."

She felt a twitch developing under her eye and so she turned to Sasuke for an explanation. He gave a half-shrug and looked out her window. Her hands curled into fists and she forced herself to take deep, calming breaths.

"Naruto. Start from the beginning."

Nodding, linked his fingers behind his head and bounced on his toes. "So, I went to go and talk to baa-chan, right? Wanted to ask her about something I guess, anyway, I had my chakra muted 'cause I like to see how long it takes people to notice me."

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto moved a hand to point at him. "Like you have room to talk!"

"Naruto!"

"Righty, anyways, I heard some people talking in baa-chan's office and decided I would see what it was about, 'cause I thought I heard my name." His cheeks puffed out. "And that's when I heard that really old ugly one in bastard's clan talking about us."

"Us?" She let the old and ugly comments go. They were well deserved. "As in our team?"

"Nuh-uh. As in you and me."

"What did you hear?"

"Just a couple of sentences. Then Baa-chan started yelling good and loud and I left, 'cause someone was going to come down there to see what the ruckus was about."

Sakura pinched her nose and Naruto rushed to continue. Hunching over, he mimicked the old scratchy voice of Uchiha Uruchi.

"Your little apprentice is worth too much to the village; she should show off her skills at the next exam that we're having here. And that… _Naruto_ is too dangerous to send to Wind country. You remember what happened last time!"

Sakura ignored Naruto's hamming it up and tucked her brows together, thinking. "Even if we didn't take the exams together…" she slashed her hand through the air to shut Naruto up before he could talk. "Even if we don't, there any rules that say we can't reform as a team later. So what are they trying to pull?"

"The council will put pressure on Tsunade-sama to split us up if we do not take the exams together." Sasuke said quietly.

"What? Why?"

Naruto set his jaw. "'Cause they can. The chunin exams are the only shot we're going to get to prove how damn well impossible we are to beat together. That it's in the village's best interest to keep us together. They know it to, bastards."

"Why does your stupid clan _care_?" Sakura demanded, rounding on Sasuke. "What does it matter who you're paired up with?"

Sasuke shrugged again and turned away.

"This doesn't have anything to do with your brother does it?" Sakura hissed suddenly. "Dammit, I've told you Sasuke, you're not fucking Itachi!"

"Anyway," Naruto hurriedly interrupted. "We're leaving tonight."

"Damn straight we are!" Sakura agreed, spinning to head back into her closet to finish packing her bag. Strong fingers wrapped around her wrist and she was jerked around to meet Sasuke's red eyes.

"Do you know what happens if we do this?"

She shoved her finger onto his chest. "Do you know what will happen if we don't? Don't tell me you're going back on your word, Sasuke. You promised me you'd give us a chance."

His eyes narrowed down at her. "Sakura…"

"Don't 'Sakura' me! You said you'd fight for us. Well, family makes sacrifices for each other, Sasuke. If we get slapped with some D class missions when we get back we'll still be Chunin and we'll still be together!"

"Yeah, bastard, it's like I told you. We stick together." He grinned, sharp and wild. "Don't make me drag your ass out of Konoha! Sakura-chan can always heal your legs later."

Sasuke stared down at her and she stared back, her face stubborn. "You're either in or out Sasuke. Screw the clan and repercussions and come with us. Don't you want this?"

His eyes spun for a moment longer before they faded to black. "Alright."

Naruto whooped and Sakura shot him a withering glance. "Are you trying to get us caught?"

Sasuke pushed her to the closet. "Hurry up. Our packs are hiding in your tree."

Nodding, she flung herself into her closet. Adrenaline and excitement bubbled in her chest and the satisfaction in knowing that they were going to foil the Uchiha Clan's precious plans for Sasuke left her feeling giddy. Swinging her pack over her shoulder she prayed the boys had rations and quickly changed into her favorite outfit.

"I'll send a message to Tsunade-shishou once we clear the gates. She'll understand."

"Let's go!"

X

___Present Day  
_Fire Country_  
_

Sakura was an old hand at missions. You didn't stay in this business for five years and not managed to have a fair number of them under your belt. She'd even been on a mission with Itachi. But she couldn't think of anything that could have prepared her for the last few days. Even training with Kakashi – a brilliant shinobi and one of the best she had ever worked with – hadn't given her something to compare this mission with. Even that one ANBU mission hadn't really scratched the surface of what he was capable of outside Konoha walls.

Itachi was a well-oiled, efficient machine. Not for one moment had he lost track of his focus. He was completely aware of his own abilities, her abilities but also the forest and exactly where they were at all times.

They were traveling in standard formation, with Itachi breaking the trail and watching for traps. They were both very aware of the growing conflict between Sound/Cloud and Konoha and already come across the evidence of one battle. The damage had appeared to be half a day old and it had been impossible to tell who had won. Once they had investigated what was left, Itachi had gone through a series of complicated seals before motioning her to follow. Sakura hadn't asked what he had done and he hadn't volunteered any information. Although she had a niggling suspicion that had something to do with the 'ANBU channels' that Tsunade-shishou had been referring to.

That had been two days ago and they hadn't seen any other physical signs of shinobi – friendly or enemy – but Itachi had paused their travel twice to listen to the forest, sharingan eyes slowly taking in the forest. Whatever he had felt hadn't been enough to stop them, so Sakura figured they were friendly patrol units or simply too far away to feel them. Since they didn't have time to deal with either, she had kept her mouth shut and followed when he motioned them forward again. They were running on a tight schedule, and assuming a squad did stop them for questioning – well, the idea that someone would question Itachi was amusing.

Even with obvious pressure to discover what information they could as quickly as they could and return to Konoha in a two week window, Itachi was carefully regulating their pace. While she was winded at the end of the day, she wasn't exhausted. Unlike the two-day dash that had occurred when Shisui had been poisoned, they took the time for breathers – water and protein bars being important for the speed they were using.

And because the trip was giving her plenty of time to _notice and think_ – _always_… was this just another facet of that? – she found herself analyzing everything he did. Paying attention to every reaction he had and how he treated her. To her carefully hidden delight, unlike the last mission where she was operating as only a mednin, this time he was taking her training as a kunoichi very seriously.

As the second in their formation, it was her job to react to his body language and watch for a tail behind them. She was the only failsafe between his back and danger. His sharingan could pick up the most minute of change in front of them, but it was her control and skills that would keep their backs guarded. Then that first night when they divided up the duties between them, he had gone about his own without bother to linger over hers. He clearly expected her to carry her own weight and to finish what she started. The only argument – if it could have been called that – was over who had what watch. The fact that he took her seriously was refreshing, _heady_ and she was struggling to keep it from going to her head.

Sakura adored her team. She treasured the missions spent with them and she fully enjoyed being surrounded by her boys. They fought for each other and together. However, as much as she grew into her own skills, Kakashi has set a precedent early with team seven that she had never managed to fully break away from. Even after they all received individual training, this was one pattern the boys would not relinquish. Unless they were too injured to move, Naruto and Sasuke insisted on taking as much of the weight of basic duties as they could managed without insulting her. They liked to use the probability that her skills as a mednin would be needed to let her rest longer. They occasionally 'forgot' to wake her for watch.

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate their concern and that there were times when she was glad for the unnecessary extra sleep; those times that she had to use a great deal of chakra to put them together she really was glad they were willing to finagle the load between them. But for the first time since Team 7 had been reformed she was being treated as kunoichi first and mednin second by a man who was close to her.

Moving swiftly from branch to branch, she estimated they were half a day's run from the border. Itachi had wanted to stay one more night in Fire country before crossing over Taki into Earth. If they could trust the map Jiraiya had given them, his source was only a two day run inside the border and there was no need to sleep an extra night in enemy territory. Not when they could rest in their own.

Rock had been quiet the past few years, but that didn't mean that Leaf-nin were welcome inside their country. The cloaks they had brought were plain and nothing besides their headbands would trace them back to Konoha. The plan was to get in and out as quickly as possible, but Sakura knew that Itachi's rat mask was tucked into his pack and she had brought the hair covering she took on sabotage missions.

They for several more hours, until they were nearly at the border; an hour before dark Itachi veered a little off course. She knew there logically that there were ANBU posts scattered along the border and she figured they were heading to one of them. His sudden drop out of the thinning trees forced her to cheek her speed before she followed.

Itachi motioned for her to follow with a quick twist of his wrist. A few minutes later they were coming across one of several large outcropping of rocks. He paused and then his hands were flying through a series of seals that blurred together. Sakura blinked in surprise when there was almost an audible shifting of chakra and a small cave opening became visible. He motioned for her to head inside.

Because they had not cleared the perimeter, Sakura gave him the hand signal for fire, silently asking permission. Itachi was did not move for a long moment before he nodded and disappeared into the woods. This part of the trip had become routine. By the time he was back from setting traps, she had a smokeless fire cheerfully crackling and was pondering which tasteless protein bars they would eat tonight. Looking up from her pack, she watched as he laid down what appeared to be a very nasty genjutsu a hundred yards from the cave entrance. Finally satisfied, he walked over; some of the tension easing out of his shoulders as he quietly told her the coordinates for the rest of his traps.

"Is there a water source nearby?" Sakura asked, fingers hovering inside her pack.

"Yes."

Pulling her hand free, she tossed him a teapot. "Good."

Itachi lifted a brow, the teapot dangling from his fingertip. "Tea?"

They had mostly been sticking with canteens, but she was tired of water and wanted to test a few things out anyway.

"Trust me." She said with a smile.

He lifted a brow, but slipped out of the cave without protest. By the time he returned she had unrolled their sleeping mats, set out their rations and was twisting a packet of herbs between her fingers thoughtfully.

"Tea?" He asked again, setting the teapot of the fire for her.

"Tsunade and I have been experimenting with the affects of herbs on the chakra system. Most poisons directly attack out chakra pathways and antidotes don't merely stop the disturbance, but they actually heal them. Soldier pills are merely large doses of certain herbs into those same pathways. Unfortunately, most herbal combinations are too strong and once they finish boosting your system and our bodies have to compensate."

"So you're experimenting with a softer herbal boost." He sounded mildly interested so she continued.

"Yes. Mostly with honey."

"Honey?"

"Honey," she said with a smile. "You can ask Tsunade for the report if you want. Honey. And herbs, really." Twisting around into her pack she pulled out the small plastic container of honey she had brought with her. When she had turned back around, Itachi was watching her with a slight smile on his face and an expression in his eyes that left her feeling off balance.

"What?"

The edges of his lips curled further and his eyes lowered to the packet. "So is the honey to cover the taste of the herbs?"

"If it doesn't taste good, Itachi, no one drinks it." She tossed him a packet. "If they don't drink it, then how do I know if all the time and effort spent studying honey was worth it? Besides, honey isn't just sweetener. It's got trace elements of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and other vitamins and minerals. We weren't sure what kind would have the best effect with the tea, so we've been experimenting with clover and with buckwheat and… why are you looking at me like that?"

He'd sat down while she was talking and propped up one leg, resting his forearm on it. There was a small smile on his face, and his eyes were warm with more than the reflected warmth of the fire. "Like what? Like I've just received an impromptu lecture on the components of honey?"

She threw the honey at his head.

He caught it nonchalantly and laughed. "And which particular brand of honey is this, Sakura?"

She stuck her nose up in the air and turned to grab her own mug, "Alfalfa, if you must know. It's mild in flavor and light gold in color. Buckwheat, on the other hand, is dark and has a more robust—you're laughing at me, aren't you."

Itachi, who had indeed been chuckling quietly, gave Sakura a lazy grin. "Yes, as a matter of fact. I am."

Something warm shimmied down Sakura's spine and she busied herself with the tea so as to not let him see her face. Sniffing haughtily, she finally turned and reached for the kettle just as it started to steam. "No need to sound like your brother."

"_Oh_?"

Sudden laughter burbled up in her throat and it took effort to keep from letting her sudden hilarity spill out. Instead, she concentrated on pouring the waver over her herbs.

"_Mmmhmm_. I expected better, _he's_ the pretty one, you know."

She sneaked a peak up through her lashes. His left brow had lifted and he was staring at her with something like muted surprised and then his lashes narrowed. Apparently he wasn't used to being teased. Something she would have to fix. But the faintly disgruntled expression on his face set her off as she lost her grip on her laughter. Covering her mouth with her hand, she did her best to muffle the worst of it.

When she had swallowed enough of her hysterics to be coherent, she dared another glance at him. There was something lazy about his posture that was not reflected in the heat of his eyes. Pulling on an innocent expression, she handed him the teapot. "Tea?"

"Are you done?"

She kept her face straight with a great deal of work. She wasn't certain she would have had the guts to tease him like this, out in the open, if he hadn't appeared so relaxed. But there was something about poking moody Uchiha that she had never been able to fully resist. She blamed Naruto.

Blinking wide eyes, she tilted her head. "Done?"

"Hmmm," he agreed, settling his chin onto his open palm as his tea seeped, eyes catching the sparks of the fire. "You should count yourself lucky we're on a mission, Sakura."

Her insides warmed at his tone. Sitting with the fire dancing across his skin, his posture relaxed, he looked… comfortable. Sticking her nose into the air in an exaggerated fashion Sakura picked her tea and removed the strainer and took a careful sip. It was still hot but with the cool air it was welcome. Setting back against the rock wall, she allowed herself to relax.

"This is good."

She smirked. "I know. I told you, these things have to taste good. Although the first batch so bitter we could use it for interrogation."

"Is there any particular side effects you want me to pay attention to?"

"We've done some light testing with an ANBU squad but our study is mostly inconclusive right now. Better stamina, fast chakra recovery… the real test is going to be when individuals who have been taking the tea find it necessary to use soldier pills. We really are hoping that the teas will help reduce the shock to the chakra system and help with recovery time."

"Understood."

Sakura picked up a protein bar and made a face. "At the very least, the tea will offer something flavorful to counteract how unpalatable these are."

"Our food choices should improve while in Earth." Itachi said as he opened up his own protein bar. "The weather will be unpredictable, and while Inns bring a measure of risk, we will operate under less suspicion by blending in than simply avoiding the larger cities."

Sakura broke off a piece of the bar and chewed slowly. "I haven't spent much time in Earth country."

Itachi nodded. "Rock's hostility toward other village is not exaggerated. We will have to be careful, but our main concern will be the landscape and the weather. The winds can cause particular issues; so we will have to keep our eyes open. As you are aware, the mountains make communication difficult so that will be in our favor if we are spotted. Thankfully, the village we are looking for is near the base of the mountains so we will not have to attempt any of the passes."

"Cover story?"

Something indefinable shifted in Itachi's features. "I'll perform a sustainable henge to take away our distinguishable features while we're out of range. We're just two people, a man and a woman, scouting out the area. We're looking for a place to stay, interested in the employment opportunities… I think the cover will take care of itself, don't you?"

She felt a prickling feeling run down her spine and turned her head to hide her fluster at his insinuation and threw a second protein bar at his head.

He caught it, his amusement almost palatable, but not a muscle in his face twitched.

"That's not a cover story," Sakura said. "I'd expect better from an ANBU captain."

Itachi's hand flickered and there was a small poof of smoke, a scroll appearing in the palm of his hand. The corner of his mouth turned up, and he threw the scroll at her.

Sakura caught it easily, arched an inquiring brow, and unfurled it to reveal background information on a small village in Earth and a cover persona.

"Memorize it, then burn it," Itachi said, unwrapping the protein bar.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him but didn't object as she unfolded the scroll. Part of her was curious if that had been some sort of test. She wouldn't put it past him. He trusted her skills as a medic but as a captain it would be ingrained in him to test her abilities in small, simple maneuvers so he would know the edge of her limitations. Either way, it wasn't something she could call him on directly. Scanning the document until she was comfortable with the material she tossed it into the fire and watched the paper quickly burn to ash.

Dragging one leg to her chest, she rested her chin on her knee and watched as Itachi studied the map he had pulled out of his pack while she had memorized their cover. His eyes lifted to hers after a moment, a brow lifting slightly in a silent question.

"So, if we find this man Jiraiya knew, how will we recognize him?" She tapped her fingers on the floor of the cave. "If we do find him, what do you think the knowledge of the blood jutsu will unlock, now that we don't have the ring?"

Itachi was silent as he rolled the map up and tucked it back into his pack. "Jiraiya's directions appear to be very concise in accordance to this map. The likelihood that the man is there is questionable, but at this point it is a risk we must take. As for the jutsu, even if we come away with only rudimentary understanding of the components, if we see the original we should be able to see where it has been altered, if at all."

"True… but even if we can find the original pattern in the work we still don't know enough about the other jutsu used to draw conclusions on how they are used."

He tilted his head in agreement. "The direction we choose to move with our investigation will depend on the amount of information we can from our possible conversation."

Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "So we won't know until we know. That's very helpful."

"That's the purpose of this mission. If we can crack the jutsu on the Akatsuki ring and reverse engineer it…" Itachi's eyes flared hot for a moment.

Sakura nodded, her own eyes narrowing, "Then we'd have the key to taking down their organization. Once we're able to figure out where each of them are…"

"We'd pick them off one by one," Itachi finished.

Nodding once again, Sakura returned her attention back to the information that had been in the scroll. The mission was well worth the time and well worth the risk. Now all she had to do was focus on preparing for tomorrow.

X

Ino was frustrated and she didn't like it. At all. She was smart, she was beautiful and she took great pleasure in using both to keep her finger on the pulse of the rumor mill in Konoha. If she didn't know about it, it was because it simply wasn't worth mentioning. And she knew a great deal. It was one of the reasons that Ibiki had finally agreed to train her himself – and it was this knack for understanding people, for finding out what people knew that she enjoyed most.

The fact that there was more to this… interaction between the Uchiha Clan heir and her best friend than she had known irritated her.

She narrowed her eyes. Well, she would just have to fix this. Sakura had skipped out of Konoha on a mission – the absence of Uchiha was highly suspicious – but that didn't mean there weren't other avenues of information. Lips curling up at the edges, she marched down a familiar street. Oh yes, she may have been out of the loop this time but there were people who weren't and when she got her hands on them…

All but skipping at the thought, she spotted her destination and slid between a family with screaming toddlers and stepped into the territory of one Uzumaki Naruto. It took only a second to find him and the smile hovering at the edge of her lips bloomed into a brilliant smile.

And he wasn't alone.

"Naruto! Shikamaru! I've been looking for you!"

Naruto had been having a good day.

He'd spent the afternoon kicking that bastard teme of his around a training ground and had managed to steal and hide all of the hag's sake. He knew eventually it would get turned back on him but he felt it was completely justified. This entire situation with bastard's brother and his Sakura-chan was her fault, after all.

Just thinking about that made him cranky so he shoved it out of his mind. He was having a good day. And now he was finishing it with a warm, scrumptious meal of ramen with a good friend. Shika was hunched over a bowel of miso ramen as if it would give him all the life answers.

Naruto approved.

Swirling the ramen along his chopsticks, he opened his mouth to share this thought.

And was interrupted.

"Naruto! Shikamaru! I've been looking for you!"

And froze.

Shikamaru immediately hunched his shoulders, slumping down further in his seat. He mumbled something that Naruto didn't quite catch, because Ino was marching towards them with that expression on her face. The one that promised t-r-o-u-b-l-e, and not the fun kind. Although, the way her lower lip stuck out and the spark in her eyes was actually quite interesting.

Stupid. He couldn't afford to be distracted, not when death with blonde hair and heels was bearing down on them.

"Ino! What are you doing here?" Attack, attack, attack. Don't let her get a word in. "Sit down! Do want some ramen?" With seeming artlessness, Naruto shoved a spoon up in her face, a few drops splattering onto her face and chest. "Oops."

"Na-ru-to," Ino gritted, one hand moving to clear off her face and pat down her chest, oblivious to the way Naruto's eyes followed the movement. Naruto tensed, subtly, anticipating a hit—but when Ino smiled again, he felt his heart sink. No immediate retribution? She was after something big.

When she lifted her eyes back to them, there was a gleam there that almost – almost!—made him regret his earlier bowl of ramen.

"Naruto."

Do not show fear. Do now show weakness. Do not get distracted by her breasts.

"Yes?"

She smiled, sliding into the free seat at their table, blocking both him and Shikamaru – the coward who was slouched down so far he was probably looking up her skirt – into the table with no immediate routes of escape. Oh, they could over power her, but the minute, the minute Sakura found out about it she would reduce what was left of their lives into painful, bloody smears.

"I was wondering if you could help me out."

"Oh?" He tried not to leer. He really did. It was giving her more power than she deserved, but he would have bet a month's pay she had worn that shirt on purpose.

"Hmmm," Ino agreed, fingers sliding over to pat Shikamaru on head. "Yup. If you can help me with one small problem, I promise to get out of your and Shika's hair with little trouble."

Uh oh. That was bribery. Cutting an uneasy glance at Shikamaru, who was refusing to meet his gaze, he smiled hesitantly. "Okay?"

She smiled. It was pleasant and provided him with a glimpse of tongue before it darted out to wet her lips. The big attacks. He was in so much trouble. "Tell me everything you know about Sakura's relationship with Uchiha Itachi."

Oh. Hell. Naruto immediately glanced at Shikamaru—the lazy bum had slid so far into himself, he was almost under the table.

Shikamaru glared back at him, a look he didn't understand until Ino reached over and grabbed Shikamaru by the ear, just above their matching earring. Oops. "And don't think I don't see you there, Nara Shikamaru! Sinking down to like that—after all these years—you know something. And you're going to tell me."

"Um… er, Ino… what makes you think we know more than you?" Naruto tried wide-eyed, frantic innocence.

"Because Inuzuka Hana was waiting for Sakura outside her house today – Itachi's ex-teammate; because you're her teammate and make a point to scare all those lovely and delicious men I set her up with away… and you can't tell me that Sasuke isn't aware."

"Sasuke doesn't want to know." Naruto said immediately and then winced. And decided to attempt to redirect. "She could just have had a question!"

"What she had was a question about Sakura. In a relationship. With Itachi." Twisting Shikamaru's ear, Ino stared down at him. "What. Do. You. Know?"

Shikamaru hunched as best he could. Naruto almost felt pity. Almost. Looking around, his eyes widened when he saw who had just walked through the door. There were some lines they just wouldn't let friends cross.

Leaning forward so he was just out of Ino's peripheral vision, he frantically made hand gestures. Kiba blinked at him in confusion and then his eyes landed on Ino, where her hand was and his eyes widened and he spun around.

Naruto sighed in relief and turned his attention back to Ino.

Who was watching him with narrowed, glittering eyes.

Oops.

"Na-ru-to. What. Was that?"

Shit.

Don't let her get to you. Attack, attack, attack! Naruto stood up, shoving his stool back and shouted right in her face, "I don't see how it's any of your business!"

Ino wrinkled her nose. "_Eww_, ramen breath."

For an instant, Naruto deflated. But only for an instant. "If it disgusts you so much, _go away_."

Ino's eyes narrowed and she lunged to her feet, hands clenching into fists on top of the table and she shoved her face up into Naruto's. "I am not going _to go away_! This is Sakura, _my best friend_! I am not going to sit back and let some clan heir mess around with her feelings and emotions while her supposed teammates sit on their collective asses fiddling their thumbs!"

Naruto's eyes flared and he snarled at her. "Sakura is my _precious person_!"

Ino bared her teeth. "Oh? What have you done to protect her, huh? What the hell do you think the Uchiha Clan is going to do when it finds out that their precious heir is messing around with some non-clan member? Did you ever think about that?"

Naruto wheeled back and then came right back in. "Of course we have! Sasuke –"

"Sasuke! Ha!" Ino leaned back and tossed her hair, glaring. "Sasuke is still Uchiha, Naruto."

Naruto growled, low in his chest. "We're _family_, Ino."

"Family," Ino said flatly, "protects each other. Again, I ask, what the _hell_ have _you_ done?"

"Ino," Shikamaru's voice cut through the growing rage between them like ice. "That's enough."

Pressing her lips together, she shifted her hot gaze to Shikamaru. "She's my best friend."

Shikamaru groaned, "You two…" he muttered something too low for Naruto to catch, bringing one hand up to cover half his face. He spread his fingers and peered out from one slightly distorted eye before closing his eyes and sighing. "So annoying."

Forgetting their animosity for a moment, Ino and Naruto shared a look of mutual exasperation at Shikamaru's expense.

Something about that look caused Shikamaru to groan again, sink further down into his seat, and shift his hand to his forehead, muttering something about 'hyperactive blonde babies,' which couldn't possibly be right.

Confused, Naruto sank back down onto his seat. Ino, who'd long ago given up trying to figure out what Shikamaru muttered about, took that opportunity to pounce. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what you know. I'm not saying you and Sasuke haven't jumped in to do your manly '_grr_, stay away from Sakura-chan' thing that you two always seem to do with everyone even remotely interesting, but this is more complicated than that, Naruto. Uchiha Itachi's not just some idiot guy out to get lucky, he's a clan heir. And… I'm starting to be scared that the idiot forehead girl isn't being as careful as she should be. Tell me what you know, Naruto. I only want to help her."

Naruto stared at her, eyes narrowing for a moment before he nodded once. "Fine. But if you use this information to hurt her, you're going to deal with me."

Ino sat down, eyes flashing but as she opened her mouth, Naruto held up one finger, silencing her. "And you have to buy me a bowl of ramen to replace this one since its cold and you have to get one for yourself." He leaned forward and smiled, showing off his teeth.

"You wouldn't want to take up a chair that a real customer could use, would you, Ino?"

Ino's face twisted. "Ramen."

"That's my deal." Naruto said, sounding entirely too cheerful. Reaching down, he slurped up cold noodles. Ino looked vaguely ill.

"I thought you wanted a new bowl."

"I do, but I'm not about to let this one go to waste!"

She growled something under her breath and pulled out some coin. Slapping it down in front of Shikamaru, she pointed to the front. "I want pork. Get him whatever."

Shikamaru lowered his chin to the table and stared at her. She narrowed her eyes. "If you think I'm giving you a chance to get away…"

Sighing heavily, he roused himself from the table and slouched his way to the counter.

"Now," she said, turning back to Naruto. "Tell me everything you know."

Shikamaru sighed.

Naruto looked up at Ino with wide eyes. Really, that was asking for it. "Well, we're gonna be here for a while, Ino, 'cause I know a lot! The sky, for example? It's blue! And it's got clouds in it, and the rain comes from the clouds—"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Ino screamed, hitting him hard on the shoulder. "I swear, I don't know how Sakura's put up with you all these years."

Naruto affected a wound expression, "You asked. Besides," he put both his hands behind his head in an expression of confidence he knew irritated her, "Sakura-chan doesn't put up with me. She loooooves me."

"Further proof that she's gone insane," Ino muttered.

Naruto's smile was cheeky. "Must be why she's still friends with you."

Shikamaru interrupted them by slamming down two bowls of ramen and slouching back into his chair. Curling one arm, he dropped his head onto the table and refused to look up, even when Naruto poked him.

"He doesn't talk when he gets like that."

"It's like… a super shinobi weapon."

Ino snorted. "I call it 'lazy'; Chouji calls it something else."

"Nah, Kakashi's lazy. Shikamaru just… conserves energy."

"And what does Sakura do when around Itachi?"

Naruto choked on his noodles.

Ino's eyes narrowed. "Naruto."

The rising tone at the end of the word told him that he'd just about exhausted her patience. "I haven't really seen her around Itachi much. He keeps taking her away."

And just the thought of it was enough to make him clench his jaw and fist his hands.

"What do you mean, he keeps taking her away?"

And then, Naruto had a thought. There was absolutely no reason why he couldn't turn Ino's overprotective curiosity against Itachi. And the best part was that there was no way Sakura-chan could trace it back to him, because _everyone_ knew how Ino was. He turned up his disgruntled whine a notch. "He just swept in out of nowhere and threw me in a genjutsu and _took_ her!"

Ino froze and then her eyes went hard and flat. "I beg your pardon?"

Neither of them particularly noticed when Shikamaru slouched as low as he could physically, because he had been doing it all evening. Naruto, sensing that Ino was suddenly on his side, nodded frantically.

"We couldn't find her!"

Naruto watched, fascinated, as Ino slowly tilted her attention to Shikamaru. Blinking, the frustration and anger faded. What on earth?

"Shikamaru."

Naruto was certain, beyond certain that that was the tone Ino took with interrogations.

Shikamaru sighed and let his forehead _thunk_ on the table.

"Yes?"

"How many in places in Konoha are there that Uchiha Sasuke couldn't locate his teammate?"

"Five."

She leaned forward, her long blond hair falling onto the table she was so close to his head. "How many of those locations do you – someone who plays shogi with Itachi every other _fucking week_ – have immediate access to?"

"Two."

Naruto's eyes went wide and then vibrant in anger. Ino ignored his hissing and poked Shika in the head. "You helped _Uchiha Itachi_ seduce _my_ _best friend_?"

"_Traitor_!" Naruto howled.

Shikamaru sighed heavily and resigned himself to the lecture that was going to leave his ears ringing for weeks. This was why he stayed out of relationships.

Damn Uchiha.

* * *

_**Please comment! **_


	19. All Tangled Up

A big thanks to everyone who reviewed! It looks like we're going to be pushing back our weekly updates to every two weeks, just so you know. We really appreciate your patience and support.

Enjoy!

Just Enough

* * *

_10 and 1/2 Years Ago  
_Konoha Village

Today was _hot_ and _boring_. Shisui had been enjoying a good spar with one of his many cousins, but that had ended up a bust when said cousin had broken his leg. It wasn't as if the fall had been so high that such an event couldn't have been avoided… so he supposed he would just have to chalk that one up to clumsiness. At least the idiot wasn't on his team. Speaking of cousins… he hadn't seen Itachi in days. Nothing like pestering his serious, overly analytical cousin to brighten a day with some form of excitement; even if it meant dodging exploding tags or whatever crazed genjutsu Itachi was determined to practice this time.

The problem with his cousin was finding him. He had heard Sasuke complaining to his oto-chan that morning that his Aniki had the day off and was gone… so that meant the training grounds. Since it was unlikely that Itachi would have stuck around long enough for one of the elders to show up to watch, he probably was somewhere in the more public areas. Humming a little under his breath, he set about at a fairly relaxed pace.

Flash stepping in this temperature was only good to look down strategically placed shirts – for even _better_ breasts – or to land face first in a river. Unfortunately, even the rivers were too warm to be comfortable this late in the summer. He was halfway into training ground C when he heard what distinctively sounded like a furious, Inuzuka type snarl.

Leaping into a nearby tree, he paced along in the opposite direction of those particularly expletives. The Inuzuka Clan were excellent trackers, but odds were if that particular Inuzuka was in the woods over _there_ that Itachi would be somewhere over _here_. It took longer than he would have liked, mostly because it was just too hot to use the energy to activate his sharingan.

So when he finally did locate his cousin, he wasn't feeling overly cautious.

"What are you doing?"

Itachi cracked on eye open and stared at him before shutting it again. "Training."

"… in a tree? By lying down? Are you practicing your balance? Clumsiness isn't an inborn Uchiha trait, you know."

Itachi didn't answer and before Shisui could poke him again, a scream interrupted them.

"I-TA-CHI when I get my _claws_ in your _face_, I'm going to kill you!"

"… so Inuzuka _is _hunting you."

Itachi just opened his eyes and stared at him. It was Itachi code for: Congratulations on stating the obvious conclusion.

Shisui cut his eyes back to his cousin and studied him for a long moment. "Itachi… are you _pranking_ your team?"

"No."

"…no?"

"No."

"Then what did you do?"

"Demonstrated their need for more training."

Shisui snorted. "Most people call that 'pranking'."

"Your suggestion that I am to blame for the lack of creativity in inferior shinobi who feel the need to hide pranking behind training is… irksome."

Shisui rolled his eyes. _"Your_ unnecessary need to prove your superior vocabulary is stupid. And since you are here and your team… well, half your team is there – I came to the conclusion that you are pranking."

"Your logic has always been inferior."

"You're always so polite. I can't understand why your team would want to kill you."

"Is there a point to this conversation or were you just attempting to verify my opinion of you?"

"Depends on what that opinion is."

Another shrill, furious scream cut through the air and this time Shisui did activate his sharingan. Anything that could infuriate a woman to the point of hysterics was dangerous and he didn't want it anywhere _near_ him. It appeared he may have to flash step after all. He glanced back at Itachi—the brat had closed his eyes again.

"Don't you have another teammate? Bug-boy or something?"

"He is currently occupied."

Shisui lifted a brow. "Huh. Well… I suppose I'll just be leaving them. Crazy and furious isn't exactly how I take my woman."

"I don't particularly care."

"I'm sure you don't… at least, not yet. One day, Itachi, you are going to get _sprung_ and I am going to laugh my ass off. I think Inuzuka is moving this direction so nap time may be over."

Itachi simply grunted.

"...You're planning on letting her find you, aren't you? You sick bastard, what do you have planned for her next?"

Itachi cracked on eye open and it gleamed. "If you want to stick around and see..."

Shisui recoiled. "Nuh-uh! I'm not _that_ crazy!"

Gathering his chakra, Shisui flash stepped out of the immediate area and shook his head as he headed back to the compound. Looking up at the sun, he perked up when he realized it was almost time for little Sasuke's afternoon snack which meant that there would be free rice balls if you were quick enough.

Then he could indulge himself in a cold, cold shower.

X

___Present Day  
_Earth Country_  
_

Sakura twisted her hair off her neck and held it in place with her hand in an attempt to find some small relief from the thick, damp stickiness that was clinging to her skin like perspiration. The past day had been spent in blistering heat and now she felt like she was trapped in a shower. Sighing, she let her hair fall as she finished her scan and turned to face Itachi. He was studying the map Jiraiya had drawn in an attempt to finalize the location of the man's home.

"Any luck?" She kept her words soft, keeping them from carrying. The odds that they were being followed were slim but the risk was still there.

Itachi was silent for a moment before rolling the map up and putting it back into the case on his belt. "It should be just another five hundred kilometers, north."

Sakura frowned a little. Five hundred meters was not far and while this area had sprung up trees, they had been walking through empty plains and fields for hours. They should have been noticed some sort of human activity by now. Even a trained shinobi left behind some imprint after countless years spent living in any one area.

Itachi's face remained inexpressive, but Sakura couldn't help but think she wasn't the only one to suspect that something was wrong. He hadn't activated the sharingan, but there was a tenseness to his shoulders. Moving to flank position, she followed him down what might have been a deer path at one point.

They made it to a small, over grown clearing. It took Sakura a moment to recognize what she was looking at. The building was small with a small lean-to that might have been a workshop attached to the side. The roof had caved in and the wood and stone were scorched black from fire. The entire place seemed rotted out and Sakura swore under her breath.

It was obvious that no one had been here for years.

"The house looks too damaged to have sustained any information over the years." Itachi said finally. "The roof has been compromised, we will risk bringing the rest of it down if we explore. We may have better luck with the smaller building."

Sakura bit the side of her tongue to keep her frustration from spilling out. Instead, she just nodded and followed Itachi to the smaller of the two buildings. It had indeed been a workshop and there was blackened and bent metal on the floor and the dull glint of superheated glass. Itachi had activated his sharingan and was scanning the room so she took in what was left on the floor. Careful to keep from touching anything with her skin, she nudged a few broken pots with the handle of a kunai and uncovered a spider's nest, but didn't find anything that looked like it could have been used in experimentation with seals.

She glanced over at Itachi. He was frowning, staring at the black smudge on his fingertips.

Sakura turned away and continued her perusal of the ground. She moved carefully towards the corner of the workshop, hoping for any sort of clue. There—in the corner.

Mold.

"Itachi."

She felt the shadow of his presence before she heard him move, and shifted so that the light could clearly illuminate the sign of life, which indicated it had been quite some time since the fire had occurred.

Sakura glanced up just in time to see his eyes narrow. He nodded, once, and the motioned for her to follow him out.

Sakura did so feeling irritated. Crossing her arms at a sudden wind and darkening skies, she frowned at Itachi.

"Now what?"

Itachi was silent for a moment before speaking. "The soot markings on the walls suggest that the fire was set deliberately. Even if we did somehow manage to locate a trail, it has long become cold. With our current time frame, we don't have time to hunt through villages looking for a man that may be long dead.

She nodded. Something cold splattered against her cheek and Sakura looked up. There were clouds but they weren't dark, although it was obvious that the storm was growing. To her great displeasure, another and another joined the first drop until they were standing in a downpour.

"We'll make towards the border." Itachi said, his voice carrying easily over the sudden rain. Sakura glared at the sky before nodding. They needed to get back and there was nothing for them here.

X

Sakura was starting to hate Earth Country. The trek back in the general direction of the border was not going well. The drizzle that had started up at what was left of the house had turned into a steady down poor, turning the endless fields into mud pits. There was nothing worse than walking in the rain, mud leaking under the toes of your sandals.

It didn't help her attitude one bit that she was still cranky about traveling just to find ruins. Assuming the old man was even alive it was obvious that they weren't going to find him on this mission. Not with the time limits they were operating under. She hated going home empty handed. Barring a miracle, that's exactly what was going to happen.

Since they had left Naruto at home, the likelihood of a miracle was slim.

Itachi hadn't said a word since they had inspected the ruins. She bore the silence as best as she could, not wanting to interrupt whatever was going on in that famed head of his, but it was wet, it was muddy, and she was starting to get irritated.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Enough was enough. Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand.

She felt a tingling sensation of a henge wrap around her and held up her hand to see that her skin had been tinted several shades darker. She lifted inquiring eyes to him.

"We'll spend the night in an inn."

Sakura nodded in a silent agreement. If Itachi felt the chances were good enough to risk an inn, she wasn't going to argue with him. It was what she wanted anyway. It was either that or give into the internal urge to shove his face into the mud. Since even the attempt would start something she wasn't prepared to finish, she fell into step half a step behind him as before and tried not to be curious about what the henge looked like.

Itachi had made himself appear shorter and most of his hair had disappeared, leaving behind features that were neither remarkable nor attractive, but the curious sort of bland that no one really paid attention to. His walk had changed as well, a little slower, a little rougher, hiding the smooth grace that identified shinobi to anyone trained.

His shoes even squelched in the mud.

Uchiha Itachi. Making noise. Shaking her head slightly, she continued on, knowing they'd never believe this at home. It was amazing what he could do to get in cover.

Knowing that they probably still had a long ways to go or else he wouldn't have risked using chakra, Sakura settled in for a long, miserable walk. In the rain. In the silent, silent, rain.

By the time they arrived at the small, cramped village Itachi had picked out for the night, she was miserable. The lack of ability to use chakra limited her ability to keep warm and while the cloak she wore was waterproof, the rest of her was not. It was a relief to reach the rather sturdy looking building.

Itachi walked slowly, his shoulders rounded with what looked like exhaustion. She didn't have to fake her weariness but made a point to exaggerate it. The walk through the village had been quick and there hadn't been many people out, but the few women she had seen tended to scuttle and keep close to the man next to them. Changing her habits now would be a giveaway if anyone was following them, but she made a note to change her walk a little tomorrow. Leaning up against his side in what might have been an attempt to leach heat from his body would have to do for now.

Under the dripping hood of her cloak, she split her attention between watching Itachi's careful act as he secured their room and marking the quickest exits. She made a point to keep to herself but to let the man behind the desk get a good look at her. Hiding completely would raise suspicions.

Sakura followed Itachi up creaky wooden stairs and down a narrow hallway. The room they had been assigned was at the end of the hallway, closest to the emergency exit.

Itachi entered the room first while she guarded the hall, signaling when he deemed it clear. She entered the short hallway, noting the bathroom on her left before it opened up into a room just large enough for the queen sized bed. There were clean towels laid out over the comforter, and Sakura picked one up before turning to Itachi.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said. If he knew what was good for him, he'd continue this silent trend until she was warm, clean, and dry.

The bathroom was small but adequate. Setting her pack on the back of the commode, she stripped her boots. Once Itachi had showered she had would have to see how much mud she could get off in the sink. Her clothes she wadded up and stuffed into a waterproof bag she had brought for this purpose. She was suddenly very thankful for the extra set of clothing she had brought for an emergency. Reaching over, she flicked on the shower and while she waited for the water to heat she looked into the mirror to see what exactly Itachi had henged her with.

She had operated under henge before. While Sasuke's control wasn't as good as his brothers, they had run a few operations that had required it. Most of the time they had simply changed hair and eye color to blend in more completely into their surroundings. Itachi's henge was far more complex. Her hair was longer, a dull, thin brown that almost matched the color of her skin. Her eyes were brown and a little too narrow to be noticeable. The lines of her face had been rounded and her nose was unremarkable. It appeared the only thing he had kept was her forehead. She was torn between being impressed at his eye for detail and bemused at how utterly unremarkable she was.

Just as went to step into the water that was now steaming – her feet hurt just looking at the heat – Itachi knocked on the door.

"I'm going downstairs to track down dinner. I left a few things for you by the door."

Translation: He had set up traps to warn her if anyone tried to enter while he was gone. While he couldn't use genjutsu without drawing attention, trip wires and smoke bombs were still viable options. Her eyes swung to her pack and she dug around for the brace of kunai she kept there.

"That's fine. Find something warm if you can. I have my pack."

"Alright."

She didn't hear anything after that so she flung herself into the warmth of the water and bit her lip to keep from shrieking as the heat hit her frozen toes and fingers. By the time she was finished the room was filled with steam and smelled faintly of the herb soap that was standard mission fare. Just as she finished pulling on her clothing she heard the sound of the front door opening. Tensing, she silently slipped a kunai from her extra pouch.

"All clear."

She relaxed at the sound of Itachi's voice and opened the door. Double-checking, she nodded when she saw him adding additional wires to his trap at the door. Picking up her pack, she stepped out of the warm room and went over to investigate what he had brought back.

"There should be plenty of hot water left."

Itachi turned from where he had set down a trey of steaming food on the dresser beside the bed and made his silent way over to her. He paused a bare foot away from her before reaching and taking a strand of her henged hair between his fingers. He rubbed it back and forth between his fingers, his gaze resting on the strand in relaxed contemplation before he dropped his hand and moved back.

"Careful," he said. "The food's hot."

"_Mmm_, just what I need," she said with a smile.

Itachi's gaze heated. He deliberately dropped his eyes and dragged them up her body before placidly moving past her towards the shower.

Sakura's heart beat out a staccato rhythm as he brushed past. Jerk. When did it get so bad that he could make heat flush through her system with a look?

Shoving the part of her that wanted to say 'screw mission protocol; shove that man against the wall' firmly aside, Sakura made her way towards the tray.

Lifting the lid off of one of the two bowls she studied the stew. It was thicker than what she was used to and there was half a loaf of bread to help mope it up with. Settling carefully onto the bed, she broke her chopsticks and took a deep breath. Her eyes watered immediately. Blinking rapidly, she studied the food. Lifting a piece of meat she took a careful bite. The aftertaste burned but after another couple of bites she started to enjoy it.

Itachi must have been in a hurry to get out of the shower because the door cracked open before she had a chance to get halfway through her meal. Looking up, she paused. Oh. He wasn't looking directly at her but she was certain he knew exactly what he was doing. She had seen him with a shirt, but that hadn't done anything to prepare for her damp and clean… with his bare feet moving silently on the wood floors. Even with the henge, the way he moved and held himself was just too damn appealing.

"When you said 'hot' you should have said 'spicy'," Sakura said once she worked enough moisture back into her throat to sound normal. He paused from where he was digging in his pack. The faint smile hovering in his eyes warmed her insides.

"Good?"

"Yes." She said.

He nodded and pulled a shirt out of his pack. "They tend to use a little more spice here than at home."

"Clearly you have never tried Lee's Curry of a Thousand Death's." Sakura muttered as she scooped up another bite.

He turned to look at her with that foreign face and somehow managed to communicate vague disapproval without actually moving a muscle.

"All right, you caught me," Sakura continued blithely, "It's actually called the Curry of Life, but trust me, my name is a far more accurate description."

Itachi's face didn't change, but he stalked towards her in a smooth expression of lethal grace until he came to settle across her on the bed. He crossed his legs underneath him and reached for his helping of food.

The silence in the room as they both ate was surprisingly relaxing. After the breaking of anticipation this afternoon, the distasteful knowledge that they had failed the mission – even if there hadn't been much hope to begin – the ease between them was welcome. Sitting on the bed with Itachi's shirt molding to shoulders that most certainly were not henged, both of them barefoot and casually intimate… there was absolutely nothing relaxing about that. It didn't help that she knew exactly what his shoulders felt like under her hands and how nice…

She was getting side tracked again. Reaching up to shove the loose hair that had fallen over her shoulder behind her ear, she determinedly pushed her attraction to Itachi away. The casual way his eyes followed the movements of her hand and wrist were not worth thinking about. Currently.

Mission, mission, mission! Tearing off a small piece of bread, she dunked in carefully into what was left of her stew. "Now what?"

He lifted a brow.

She rolled her eyes. She slid one knee up to her chest to rest her elbow as she leaned back against the wall and popped some of the bread into her mouth. "We're walking back into Konoha with nothing physical. Might as well have a plan."

He was still infuriatingly silent. If he were Sasuke, Sakura would think he was trying to pout. She resorted to ignoring him. Tilting her head back, Sakura addressed her thoughts to the ceiling. "If we can't trace the jutsu, then I guess we're stuck waiting to see if Jiraiya came up with anything. Since the Akatsuki reclaimed the ring, we're stuck with using what notes we have."

Itachi didn't so much as pause in his methodical eating, and it irritated Sakura quite a bit. She tilted her head to set narrowed eyes upon him. "Are you ever going to explain that to me, by the way? It's obvious that you used to the ring to trap the Akatsuki into coming and getting the ring. What's not obvious is why."

When he didn't look at her, she mentally shrugged. While there was a great deal of her body language that Itachi could read, no matter how perfectly his henge translated movements and expressions, the change in eye size, color, jaw line… every minute change altered expressions _just enough_ where the more subtle cues were missed.

And if Itachi didn't want to talk, that was fine. There were other forms of communication that she _excelled_ at. And she would really hate to let the henge go untested. She did love fieldwork. It was her duty, after all, to help her fellow shinobi know where areas of his expertise might need some... adjustments.

Casually she reached back and coiled her hair around her fingers. Ignoring the way Itachi's eyes flickered up she reached over with her free hand and pulled the senbon needles off of the dresser Itachi must have left there and secured the messy knot she had created. Satisfied that she had his attention, she wiggled back against the pillows while unbuttoning the top two buttons of her shirt. Letting out a little sigh, she pulled the rest of her meal back into her lap and picked up a piece of bread. Shredding a piece of easily, she dunked it into the soup and popped it into her mouth.

Only then did she look up. Lifting a brow at the way he was watching her, she shrugged. "Getting a little hot in here, don't you think?"

He didn't say anything, but his henge-lightened eyes were on her with a familiar heat. Innocently, she continued, "Must be the curry. It really gets the blood moving, you know?" she arched her back in a not-so-subtle stretch before settling more comfortably back against the pillows.

She peaked up at him through her lashes to catch him in a stillness she hadn't seen from him before. Then, just as easily, he picked up his tray and moved off the bed, his muscles ripped along his shoulders in a way that had her biting the side of her tongue. Silently, he paced to the small table by the door and set his tray down.

Then he turned back to her.

His eyes didn't have to be his own for her to catch the heat in them. Her insides warmed and she bit down harder on her tongue at the way he tilted his head before he slid forward seamless, body rolling forward sinuously until his thighs hit the dark wood of the bed frame. Reaching down, he deliberately moved her tray to the small table next to the bed. Then he straightened, pressed one hand on the wall above her shoulder, braced the other on the on bed, leaned forward and traced his nose against her cheek, stopping so that his lips pressed against the corner of her mouth.

"Are you trying to compromise the integrity of this mission… Sakura?" He drawled her name with his voice wrapped in promise and she had to work to keep her hands to herself.

Titling her head just enough to brush her lips against his skin, she allowed a half-smile to curl her lips. "No, that would you. With your refusal to tell me anything."

Itachi traced his nose down the curve of her cheek. He turned his head so that his lips were just brushing against her ear, "Whatever do you mean, Sakura?"

Something hot and wet flicked against her ear and that was clearly not playing fair. She gasped and used the reflexive action as an excuse to arch up and brush her chest against his. "Playing stupid doesn't suit you, _Itachi_."

He clamped down on her earlobe and pulled, flicking the sensitive skin between his teeth with his tongue. Sakura instinctively reached for his hair, tangling her fingers in the thick smooth texture the henge could not conceal. Releasing her ear, he blew on it before whispering, "Careful, _Sakura_."

Shifting once again so that his eyes met hers, he murmured, "Tell me what you think you know."

Sakura's lips twitched up and she nudged his nose with hers, "Are we really going to have this conversation like this?"

Tilting his head, Itachi edged the corner of her lips with his. "Don't start what you can't finish."

"As long as you know what you are getting into." She responded lightly, brushing her lashes down his cheek. She hoped _she_ knew what she was getting into.

His cheek slid against hers, the faint stubble catching her skin in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant. When he spoke, his tone was faintly mocking. "What do you think you know, Sa-ku-ra?"

"You're hunting Orochimaru." Her lips curved against his jaw as his body stilled against hers. Letting her fingers wrap deeper into his hair, she dragged her nails down the back of his neck lightly. "That is the basis for many of your goals is it not?"

His hands ran lightly down her spine before arching her back so her breasts pressed against his chest. His teeth grazed against her jaw, just enough to sting and she shivered.

"Is it?"

She stretched her neck and flicked her tongue out under his chin. "You set your trap for the Akatsuki, but you also set it for Orochimaru."

Her spine popped at the angle he pressed it into but the way his nose nudged her was almost playful. In retaliation she wrapped her leg around the inside of his thigh, forcing him to hold her weight.

"Tsunade-sensei won't let you kill Orochimaru as long as he is your link to information about the Akatsuki. So you set a trap to test a theory Jiraiya hadn't even suggested yet. To find a way to turn their communication against them." She lifted her lashes just enough to watch him. "That's why Konoha played defense instead of offensive while they attacked and that's why you agreed to this mission… to give the impression that we were desperate enough to seek any source of information on their activities that we could."

His lips brushed the curve of her smile. "How did I do that?"

She untangled a hand from his hair and lifted it to trace along the edge of his eye. "You tell me… Itachi."

He laughed, a deep warm chuckle which belayed the sudden heat in his eyes at her mention of his name. Shifting, Itachi effortlessly held himself aloft with one arm while he used his other to mimic her caress on his face. Calloused fingers trailed over the sensitive skin by her eye, leaving a tingling heat in their wake. "But this way is so much more fun."

Quick as she could, Sakura darted her head up to clamp down her teeth on his ear. The hand on her face slid around to her neck, and Itachi hissed. "Do not," she whispered harshly into his ear, "make the mistake of thinking you can treat me like a toy."

The hand on her neck fisted, catching her hair by the roots and he pulled her down so he could stare at her eyes. Countless heartbeats passed between them before Itachi spoke, "Playing with you is not the same as toying with you, Sakura. I enjoy the way your mind works and find the way you explain your conclusions intriguing. As for this game," he nudged his nose against hers, "you started it."

Sakura refused to back down. "You weren't talking to me," she couldn't twist her head to gain distance because of his grip on her hair, and instead let her foot slide off his thigh and back onto the bed. "The ring was our mission. The pursuit of the jutsu used in it—our mission. You made choices without consulting me, led us off without informing me of our true objective, and you thought you could get away with it. I don't work that way. Itachi. Can I trust you to treat me as a person? As a partner? I will not settle for anything less."

His lips on hers were his answer. The heat of his kiss was at odds with the precision of his mouth against hers. He made no move to deepen the contact to more than just his lips on hers… but there was a deliberateness to each caressing movement that curled her toes.

She watched him through her lashes when he finally pulled back. Breathing deeply, he rested his forehead against hers and deliberately held her gaze as he spoke.

"I said everything, Sakura."

Yes. He had. And she had been very deliberately _not_ thinking about it, but that didn't mean she had forgotten a single word he'd said. "You said you wouldn't demand anything of me that you wouldn't give." There wasn't any heat to her tone. "Prove it."

He laughed again, a soft, wondering laugh before dipping his head to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. Then he rolled off of her, landing on his back beside her. Itachi tucked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Sakura supported her weight on her elbow and turned on her side to watch him.

"What's so funny?"

He met her gaze; his eyes alight with some inner fire. "You amaze me."

Itachi reached out with one hand to trace down her cheek before capturing her chin in his grip. Sakura allowed him to pull her down for one more kiss, this one almost nothing more than a chaste meeting of the lips. His hand slipped around the back of her neck during the contact and prevented her from moving back. His eyes were lit with a hunger which contradicted the lightness of his touch. "Ask your questions."

"What trap?"

"Tsunade agreed to use a high level genjutsu to cover a seal that will allow us to track the Akatsuki member who wears the ring with some level of accuracy."

"A genjutsu?" Sakura murmured, her brows tucking together. "That's risky."

"Using a genjutsu was a gamble." Itachi agreed. "It will allow us to track their progression if it is not discovered."

"What would it take to find the jutsu in the ring you planted?"

"I can think of perhaps five bloodlines that would allow the user to find the jutsu I used. Only three of them would allow the user to find and break the jutsu and two of those are in Konoha."

Sakura considered that while shifted her weight, bringing up an arm to settle against the mattress so she could brace her chin on her palm as she digested those words. She could think of two possible outcomes of this experiment. They would either discover that someone within the Akatsuki had a bloodline limit capable of dealing with genjutsu or they could track at least one Akatsuki member.

But it also opened them up to be shown what the Akatsuki wanted them to see…

"How will you deal with the chance that they will be feeding us the information they want us to have?"

"To find the seal they will have to break the genjutsu and if they do, the seal will dissolve and we will lose any connection we have to the ring."

It really was a gamble. But she could see the logic behind it. All the same…

"Does shishou know about this?"

Itachi arched a brow, "Do you really think I would do anything like this without the approval of the Hokage?"

The answer to that was probably better left unsaid, and he was sporting a smugly amused air which said he knew it. So Sakura fell back on her pillow and joined him in staring up at the ceiling instead. "We're doomed."

"Oh?"

"Well, if you didn't tell her, we are going to be in so much trouble when we come back empty-handed. And if you did tell her… that means she took our side in this bet. We're doomed."

There was a pause and then Itachi laughed, low and from deep in his throat. Tilting her head, she glanced at him. He pushed himself up and smiled at her with warm eyes. He didn't make a move to touch her but her pulse kicked up anyway.

"Either way, we'll find out once we return."

She was tempted to smack him with the pillow but decided that would get her into trouble. Before she could come up with a proper response, he pushed himself into a sitting position and was sliding off the bed.

"I'll take first watch."

Sakura opened her mouth to argue with him and then changed her mind. Already she could pick out the faint sounds of a growing crowd downstairs. The odds that shinobi would attack them tonight were so slim they were hardly existent. The worst that would occur was a handful of scenarios involving a few drunks attempting to find their rooms. Itachi would have to disengage the worst of their traps to keep from alerting the hotel that they were shinobi if someone did attempt to enter their room by mistake or intent. She was more than capable of handling it, but letting Itachi deal with idiots was suddenly very appealing. And quiet of the predawn hours would give her a chance to analyze this conversation in minute detail.

"Okay."

Climbing out of the bed, she dug out a kunai before yanking back the thin coverlet on the bed. With a sigh of happiness, she crawled under the covers and buried herself in the first real bed she had slept in over a week. Pulling a pillow over her head and curling her fingers around the hilt of the kunai, she allowed herself to relax, knowing that Itachi was all the warning she would need.

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**_Please Comment!_**


	20. Ambush

**Disclaimer**: If we owned Naruto, Itachi would still be evil and Sasuke would be black and blue from having sense kicked into him.

AN: Thank you all so much for your continued support for this story! When we first started writing it we never could have IMAGINED how it would have taken off. Every time we see another review, we are filled with glee. We are coming to the end of the story now, with only a few more chapters left to go. We really hope you continue to enjoy it.

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_18 Years Ago  
_Uchiha Compound

Mikoto curled her fingers around a mug of tea to ease the chill of early morning air as she stood outside the house, facing the practice field. The steady, rhythmic thud of heavy blows striking still wood was as familiar and soothing as the tea in her hands. He really was talented. Unlike his father, she understood how much work Itachi had put into perfecting his movements. Itachi practiced perfection. He didn't bother to make a move unless it was optimal and efficient, and once he had struck that balance he practiced it with deliberate movements over and over until that perfection became instinctive. Yes, he was brilliant. That brilliance allowed him to find the perfect move with relative ease. But it was Itachi's relentless pursuit of perfection that Fugaku was seeing the results of now.

And it was that relentless pursuit which concerned her. Perfection in a child was too much to ask for, but Itachi asked it of himself. To take him out of training before he had a chance to learn that there was more to life than being a shinobi, and more to being a shinobi than perfection would not only continue to isolate him from his peers but would strain him until he snapped.

Itachi had a connection of sorts with his older cousin, Shisui, but he needed bonds outside the clan to sustain his active mind. He needed the challenge of teammates. Bluntly, Itachi needed friends and the bonds that came with fighting death together. While she was certain that her son would always have a unique perspective when it came to people, he would have no chance to learn how to relate to others if they put him on a genin unit now. He was so much younger than anyone he could be paired with and that would lead to resentment until it festered, dividing the unit beyond repair. Then he would simply be moved to somewhere his talents were more 'useful' and she would watch her son disappear under the strain of it all with nothing to help him balance.

Fugaku insisted that he was just trying to bring Itachi the challenge that he needed to improve, but she wondered just how much of that was true and how much of it was the elders blinding him with tales of the prestige the 'Uchiha prodigy' could bring the clan. As much as she loved the man, he was surprisingly short sighted in some vital areas of his life. Still, right now Fugaku wasn't the problem she had to pick apart: Itachi was. She hadn't expected him to be pleased that he would be required to attend the academy until his twelfth birthday but this obstinate silence and tactic avoidance of her would end.

And if Itachi thought she was unaware of his eavesdropping on her conversation with Fugaku, well, he was still learning. And a mother's instinct had no equal in the world of shinobi, regardless to what her husband's opinion on the matter was. That Itachi had chosen to wait to react in any matter until Fugaku had told him the change of plans spoke well for her son, but there was an oversight she had every intention of pointing out to her stubborn perfectionist.

With Fugaku at the Hokage Tower she had the time. Very few even in _this_ compound felt brave enough to face the hard frost and early morning hours just yet. They would have as much privacy as they ever had. Setting her tea down, Mikoto maneuvered to her feet and joined Itachi in the small practice ground next to the house.

He stopped as soon as he heard her approach and took a polite stance, eyes dark and unreadable in the pale light.

"Itachi."

"Oka-san."

Yes, her son was mostly certainly learning. Nodding at him, she studied the practice ground and the precise placement of kunai. Thoughtfully, she reached over and lifted a kunai, rolling the familiar weight between her thumb and forefinger.

"Your father wishes you to graduate the academy this month in the hopes that you will make the chunin exam in eight months. By now, you are aware that I oppose this decision."

"Yes, Oka-san."

Setting the kunai down, she folded her hands in front of her, polite posture matching his.

"You do not agree with my decision." She did not make it a question and he did not respond. Nodding her approval, she swept one hand between them. "Tell me what you would gain if I had agreed with your father."

Back straight, eyes meeting hers, he did. Quietly but with great thought, he outlined his plan to rise quickly in the ranks. In three years he put himself in ANBU, in another year he made captain. Five years was all her son wanted to become one of the most powerful shinobi in the village.

She did not doubt that he would manage it, if she gave him this chance.

"Now I will tell you what you would have lost."

She saw his brows tuck together before they smoothed out.

"What are we, Itachi?" She let her eyes scan the grounds. "What does this represent?"

"The clan."

"Do we have weaknesses?"

"Yes."

She nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them, the world was sharingan bright. Her son's small shoulders tightened but he did not flinch and she let it fade again.

"Our eyes represent our perfection," the saying was one the elders liked to parry to the children and she used it now. "How do we have weaknesses?"

"Our eyes are simply a tool." Itachi responded immediately. "If we rely too heavily on any one tool, then we create a weakness in ourselves. By creating weaknesses, we begin to rely on our strength and then we fail."

She nodded. "Yes."

Itachi just watched her, but she could see the way he was trying to work through her words, to find her point. She knew later, he would review the conversation and realize that by asking him the questions, she had forced him to listen, to pay attention to what she wished to say. It wouldn't be long before he began to mimic this particularly interrogation tactic and she looked forward to seeing how he used it.

Right now he would not care for bonds or the strength of teammates. That lesson would come later. Now she had to help him understand what he would lose if he followed his father's plan.

"You are advanced far past your year mates. You have shown a great talent for our way of life and you are exceptional in everything you put your mind to learning." She folded her hands together again. "But you are only one member of _this_ clan, Itachi; one person who represents us as a whole. You have understood the concept that takes other shinobi years to master – we create and destroy our own weaknesses by our will and how we define ourselves. If one cannot admit to the possibility of weakness then you cannot defend against it."

"Yes, Oka-san."

There was a curious note now, so she answered his unspoken question. "You have seen every opportunity to learn and to perfect yourself as a shinobi except for one."

His body stilled and dark eyes locked onto her face with an intensity that had been missing up till this point. She was careful to keep her face stern.

"Oka-san?"

"The academy is not just a place to learn books and to study tactics. It is an opportunity you will never have again: to study your fellow shinobi without suspicion."

Those dark eyes narrowed as he considered that so she continued. "To this point you have merely studied them as classmates, weighing your strengths against your own. Did you learn how to use your sharingan in one day, Itachi?"

"No."

"You are surrounded by all the children of the clans, who are also learning their strengths and weaknesses. Many of them will simply cover up what they lack, but the opportunity to watch them overcome their obstacles, to see how each individual clan strengthens its members is before you."

After all, the sharingan was useless unless you had the strength to bend the techniques you learned to your will.

Her son's dark eyes gleamed as he watched her face, looking for any sign of appeasement for her refusal to allow him to advance. She would see the wheels turning in his mind, the tightening of his mouth telling her more about his thoughts than even his eyes.

Then he bowed, stiff and proper. "Thank you, Ka-chan."

Mikoto immediately noticed his return to the more informal and familiar address, and she had to fight down the surge of triumph she felt from the sound. She had won her son back. He would watch, and learn, and in doing so he would come to respect the other clans, would be forced to interact with the other children, and would begin to form the bonds that would be so necessary to keep him human. Keeping her face stern, she returned the bow. "Make their strengths yours, Itachi."

The corners of his mouth pulled up and for a moment, excitement glittered in his eyes.

"I will."

X

___Present Day  
_Fire Country_  
_

They were well into Konoha's forest when Itachi turned to catch her gaze. The expression in his eyes sent a shot of adrenaline through her blood. The sudden predatory gleam told her what he was going to say before he opened his mouth.

"It appears we will have company soon."

Company. Sakura extended her senses, but she couldn't pick up anything. She frowned, he would have only brought it to her attention for one reason, but it didn't hurt to confirm her suspicion. "Enemy?"

"They are attempting to cloak their chakra. It is possible that they are one of our units." His eyes stayed locked on her. "But their chakra is not familiar."

So. There was a group of unknown shinobi heading in their direction, in Konoha's territory. Enemy shinobi found in another village's territory was a killing offense in and of itself, but for them to be on an intersecting path… "Ambush?"

"It appears so."

Her brows tucked together as she thought that over. They needed to report to Konoha as quickly as possible but it wouldn't due to leave 'company' feeling unwelcome. "Have you felt any of our teams?"

"No."

"How many?"

"Seven."

She lifted a brow and let the edges of her mouth curl. "Only seven?"

Itachi didn't physically react so much as a twitch, but a strange, predatory light flared in his eyes at her words. "If my count is correct."

Sakura snorted. "Right. So, then, shall we engage? Seeing as they've come out so far to meet some Konoha shinobi… I'd hate to disappoint. It would be at least courteous to see what they want."

The edge of one mouth tilted, just a little. Adrenaline curled through her veins as she reached for her gloves. It took only a moment to tug the snug leather over her fingers but she was very aware of how he watched every movement she made as she snapped Velcro and flexed her fingers before she looked back up to see what he wanted to do.

The shot of heat through her stomach had nothing to do with the approaching enemy and everything to do with the way his eyes were still on her hands. She could vividly remember him whispering his appreciation of her hands, the way he'd lifted her fingers to his lips… When his eyes finally lifted back to hers, he dragged them over her body before lifting them so she could see that they were already sharingan bright.

"Yes," he murmured, "it would be such a shame to be… impolite."

Sakura swallowed. It took a moment longer than it should have to make sure her voice wouldn't squeak, a moment that Itachi committed to memory and caused his eyes to flare brighter. "Well, what are we waiting for, then? I assume you want to take point?"

Itachi's face lit in a sudden sharp expression of predatory glee, all without moving a muscle. "We will intercept them. _You_ will take point. Scatter them with your strength, and then pick up the ones closest to you. I will take care of the perimeter."

Sakura's eyes lit with sudden appreciative anticipation. He trusted her with this. His faith in her abilities was… exhilarating. She gave a sharp nod. "Yes, Captain!"

Itachi's eyes were also alight with anticipation. He nodded and immediately took to the trees, charting them on an intercept course.

Adrenaline was thick and sharpened her senses in a familiar, welcomed way. Scatter them with her strength… years of experience with such a maneuver with her own team had taught her that the best way to do that was to shatter the ground straight up and out. It not only provided enough debris to guard her in that single heartbeat where she was vulnerable, but also gave a sharingan user the biggest advantage in moving through the debris without being seen.

Sasuke could easily take out one or two shinobi in those scattered, frantic moments. Naruto usually acted to protect her back as she lunged for the nearest shinobi so she would have to be careful not to lose someone in the debris. But if Itachi moved as fast as she thought he would to wipe out the perimeter behind her…

Still, no reason to be careless.

Itachi paused suddenly and moved his hands in a series of signals. Nodding her understanding, she slid in front of him and settled against the trunk of a tree to wait. Itachi disappeared behind her, his chakra signature disappearing completely. Pulling her chakra in tightly, she waited for the first sign of the enemy shinobi.

The first spark of chakra had her narrowing her eyes. Gazing in the direction Itachi had indicated they would be arriving, she quickly counted seven signatures. Seven. That meant she needed to drop in after the third. While Itachi could handle four shinobi on his own, she wasn't willing to leave that many at her back as she transitioned from her attack.

It would be a matter of timing.

She reflexively clenched her hand in preparation. The foliage was thick and they were both well hidden, but she could see through the cracks in the leaves. She'd subtly extended her senses so that she had a sense of the layout—the slight dip in the forest floor to the north, the closely packed groups of pine to the east were both factors to take into account – and then one—they were rushing along the ground, arms spread behind them, faces masked. Running in an overlapping pattern—two—masked, chakra suppressed but highly armed, she caught a glimpse of a naginata—three—

And Sakura jumped down, gathering and releasing her chakra with precision. They were expecting trouble, so they spotted her a second before she made contact with the ground. The shinobi closest to her had already pulled out a handful of senbon when she exploded the earth out from under his feet. She registered the symbol on his forehead protector automatically: Cloud.

She didn't give him time to adjust his trajectory. While expelling the chakra from her right hand to cause the most damage while shooting debris into the air, she yanked a kunai out of her leg holster with her left. Flinging it straight ahead, she rolled herself after it, following the path of the falling debris that stung against her skin. The Cloud-nin was dead before he knew she had moved. One.

Her biggest problem was that the other three shinobi were very aware of her location. Surging forward with chakra enhanced feet, she flung a second, tagged kunai into the foliage just as she caught a flicker out of the corner of her eye. The resulting explosion bought her precious seconds to dodge the barrage of kunai and slam her foot down; disrupting the earth under the feet of the only shinobi she could see, forcing him to pause in his seals. Pushing more chakra into her feet, she raced forward and took him out with another kunai. Two.

There were two more in front of her, and she could sense Itachi moving behind her, taking care of the three. Chunks of earth were still falling all around her, and she'd set off a domino effect with those pines—jumping up, she used the height to avoid a rolling tree and scan for the two missing shinobi.

The attack came from above, and Sakura barely had the time to work a substitution jutsu before an electrically charged chigiriki connected with her head. The metal chain hit the log with a loud crack, the electricity causing a small explosion.

But what goes up must go down, and the Cloud-nin couldn't just stay in the air forever. He landed, crouched on a tree limb just long enough for Sakura to make her move.

Clinging to the tree branches with chakra, she raced straight at the enemy. The sound of crackling of electricity had the sliding to the bottom of the thick branch she had landed on, but she never slowed. The chigiriki was a dangerous weapon, but it was slow. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flicker that told her the fourth shinobi was trying to box her in.

Attaching another tag to a kunai, she released her hold on the branch and flung it straight at the ball and chain as she fell, snapping her fingers through the body flicker she managed to dodge out of the blast area. Landing on her feet, she immediately rolled into a defensive position.

The whistling of kunai had her rolling again and when she came up, she found herself dodging a fast combination of kicks and punches. Flowing through the movements, she blocked and waited for the opening she needed to end the fight. Cursing at the now familiar crack of lightening and hiss of metal, she slapped her hand to the ground, shaking the cloud-nin off balance just as he threw.

The sudden motion of the earth forced him to compensate his weight onto his heels, giving her a few seconds to scan for the fourth shinobi. Setting her teeth, she lunged forward and pushed her opponent into the defensive as she hit him with her own taijutsu combinations. He bared his teeth at her and she pushed chakra into every hit she landed.

There.

Ducking under a punch, she rotated her weight and put the full force of her punch into the shinobi's chest. The familiar sensation of bone and muscle caving and exploding under her fist was the only confirmation she needed that he was dead. Spinning on her heel, she crouched down in a defensive position, ignoring the sticky heat that now clung to her cheeks and arms – instead she scanned the immediate area to locate the fourth and final Cloud-nin.

Out of the corner of her eye, two smoking corpses and a large smear of blood caught her attention briefly before she met a pair of burning, sharingan eyes. The expression behind his eyes burned through her like hot metal. She met that wild, intense gaze with her own and suddenly couldn't work up any moisture in her mouth. Adrenaline, triumph and sudden arousal were making her head spin and she couldn't look away.

X

It had been a whim, a desire to watch her rise to yet another challenge that had struck him while planning out the battle with the incoming enemy. He had sparred with her, had seen the results of her battles but had never watched her kill. The sudden desire to _see_ had been one he had had no reason to deny. And the reward of that bright, _brilliant_ understanding that had flashed through her eyes followed closely by the determined set of her mouth had filled him with an anticipation he had been loath to see disappointed.

Her timing as she fell to the earth had been perfect. The controlled, graceful fall that had erupted into the upheaval of earth and trees had lit a hunger deep in gut that had only increased as he watched the way she reacted before she had even completed the first strike to the earth; the way she had read the enemies movements and responded. Then he had been forced to turn his attention to the three shinobi who had turned to strike at her back.

The fight had taken very little out of him. While he was certain that the masked shinobi had been well trained, he wasn't in a particular mood to draw the fight out and had reacted swiftly. He had turned away from what was left of the enemy shinobi in time to catch Sakura's fourth opponent attempting to get behind her while she searched for his partner.

While Itachi had no doubt that she was smart enough to keep tabs on both of the remaining shinobi… he had plans for the last one that she was unaware of. It had taken a heartbeat to move in front of the shinobi, to grab him by the throat and ensnare the shinobi with his sharingan, easily taking control of his mind. Slamming him up against the tree and leaving him deep within the genjutsu, he turned to watch Sakura finish her fight.

The same lethal quickness he had seen in each other their spars was easy to follow. The chakra she put behind her hits was deliberate and efficient. She cut through the shinobi's defenses easily before putting the full force of her punch into his chest cavity. Blood and bone exploded outward and back, leaving behind messy corpse. She didn't seem to notice or care, spinning around and sliding directly into a defensive stance as she scanned the immediate area for the final cloud-nin.

And now she was watching him, standing over decimated chest cavity of her former enemy. Her eyes reflected the same triumph, the same rush that came with killing… the same burning heat. And the rest of her… lowering his eyes he scanned her panting form, taking in the lack of injuries, the way her chest rose and fell and the blood that speckled her torso, arms and cheeks.

The blood that dripped from the leather of her right glove.

Slowly, he lifted his eyes back to her hot gaze. Putting a little more chakra into the genjutsu to ensure that the last nin would remain… occupied, he slowly let his hand fall away from his throat. Deliberately, he stalked towards her, eyes drinking in every shift of muscle, the way her breath caught just so in her throat.

The edge of his mouth curled just a little as he reached her. Slowly, eyes never leaving hers, he dragged his forefinger down the line of her cheek, smearing the blood splatter. She shivered at his touch, eyes going dark. Sliding his palm down to cradle her jaw, he curled his over arm over her hip, up her spine to tangle in her hair. Watching the line of her throat as she swallowed, he met her eyes with his once more before leaning in and taking her mouth with his.

She reacted instantly, surging up against him, her leg hooking behind his knee. Fisting his hand into her hair, he tilted her head back and intensified the kiss. She made a noise in the back of her throat that sent heat curling down his spine. Tangling both fists into his hair, she jerked his head back. Following the motion, she pulled back just enough for him to catch the heat of her gaze before she leaned back in.

And bit his bottom lip hard enough to sting. Itachi's senses flared white-hot. He _moved_.

His hand fit under her shirt at the small of her back, pressing flesh against flesh, the scratchy leather of his gloves contrasting with the heated warmth of his calloused fingertips. He was pressing her close, so tightly her breasts were pressed nearly flat against his chest. He assaulted her mouth with his tongue, teeth, and lips, and she gave back as good as she got, moaning when he hit a spot on the roof of her mouth _just right_.

He pulled back for just a moment and she sucked in a lungful of air and then his mouth returned, teeth sinking into her bottom lip as the hand wandering along her back slid down her spine and across the curve of her butt and then dug into her thigh. While his other hand stroked down the curve of her ear and down her neck to fist his hand around her braid, forcing her head back to bare her throat, he lifted her up by the thigh, forcing her leg high around his hip and shoved her back up against a tree.

Sakura barely registered the bark scraping against her back; she was so focused on the heat pressed between her legs, his hand sliding over her thigh, the scraping, suckling pressure of his hot mouth on her neck. She responded to him with equal hunger, arching her head to allow him access while attacking the sensitive skin under his ear, scraping her hands down his back and wishing to _kami_ she'd had time to take off her gloves, even as her hands sought the edge of his shirt and slid across the smooth skin of his back.

His back muscles rippled under her touch and his breath hissed across the damp skin of her neck. Tightening her thigh around his hip, she pulled him closer – the heat of him burned every inch they touched – and turned her head to scrape her teeth along his jaw, flicking her tongue along the bone. He dug his fingers into her butt, arching his hips into hers. The hand that had been in her hair was snaking up her hip, gliding across her ribs and she gasped, arching as his fingers closed around…

Sudden motion caught the corner of her eye and jerked her head around. The shinobi was falling forward, hand moving to his pouch and she reacted. Digging her fingers into Itachi's back, she levered herself up and yanked the senbon out of his arm pouch with her right hand. As she flicked her wrist back Itachi's harsh, guttural voice snapped out a single word.

"Alive."

She almost slipped off him with the effort to alter the trajectory of the needles but Itachi shifted his hold on her butt and held her easily. The cloud-nin, still dazed and panting from the genjutsu was easily pinned to the tree.

"Fuck," Sakura hissed, dropping her head onto his shoulder, still keeping one eye on the cloud-nin.

"If only," she thought she heard him mutter, his hand easing off her breast as he arched into her one more time before gripping her hips and supporting her as he stepped back.

Unwilling to take her eyes off the cloud-nin completely, she took several deep, gulping breaths in an attempt to calm her overheated system. It didn't help that her lip still stung from his bite and her neck and chest felt cold. Tilting her head, she peaked up at Itachi from the corner of her eye.

And felt surge of adrenaline from something completely different. His face had gone carefully; completely blank, but there was something about the angle of his jaw, the slight narrowing of his eyes and the whirl of the sharingan that spoke of a temper she hadn't seen from him before.

And then he glided over to the enemy and her mouth ran dry.

He came to stand directly in front of the cloud-nin, blocking her view of the enemy and of his face. "You," he said in a particularly dangerous monotone, "are going to tell me _exactly_ what I want to know."

"Go to hell, you –"

And then the screaming began. Loud, high pitched, terrified _screaming_. Itachi wasn't even _touching_ him—Sakura slowly maneuvered her way away from the tree to better see the absolute horror etched on his face.

Sakura found herself watching the cloud-nin with a mednin's eye. She didn't know what hell Itachi had created for the shinobi, but it appeared to be working fast. At least for her. She wanted to say that he was dragged into the _Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu,_ but she had seen both Kakashi and Sasuke perform it and had never seen results like this. There had only been the quietest of rumors inside the tower that Itachi was used as an assassin and interrogator, but this…

Most genjutsu used simply used the chakra in the victim's nervous system to create illusions, but for all intents and purposes the sharingan had always been able to take those illusions on step further. The particular whirling motion of their tomoe allowed an Uchiha not only the ability to directly affect the nervous system, but drill directly into the victim's brain waves. For someone like Itachi who had a very refined control of his sharingan, that ability would be extremely effective.

She could feel the sharp, deadly precision of Itachi's chakra as he shoved it into the cloud-nin's system and watched as blood dripped from the enemy's nose and ears. The rapid beating of the pulse in his neck, the way he was clawing at his own chest and the bursting of a vein in his left eye confirmed that he wouldn't live through the genjutsu.

Forty seconds. Forty seconds and the blood had drained from the cloud-nin's face and lips, before he simply fell over. If she had to guess, she would say his heart had given out on him. The pain would have been terrible, but she wasn't certain that what he'd seen hadn't been worse.

Itachi turned around, his face impassive but his eyes still swirling sharingan. There was a certain controlled energy in his movement that put Sakura on edge. She didn't dare take her eyes off his face for a moment, not even to flicker back to the corpse. He was completely still, but every movement he made radiated deadly intent.

It was moments like this when Sakura was reminded that he was very, very dangerous.

"Konoha is under attack," he said calmly. "Cloud and Sound are targeting the clans. How fast can you run?"

The lingering heat, frustration and curiosity about the death of the cloud-nin disappeared under a surge of adrenaline. Her system jolted to hyper aware and she met his sharingan eyes without flinching.

"Fast enough."

X

_So troublesome_. Bad enough that the village was under attack, and the acrid smell of smoke was stinging his eyes and parching his mouth. Bad enough that a forth of the village had been decimated beyond the hope of simple repair, bad enough that they were targeting the clans, which would just made them _more_ of a pain to deal with and lead to enough paperwork to last for _months_. Shikamaru suppressed a groan. No. On top of all that, he had to go and handle two shinobi who thought it was a good idea to betray their village.

Filthy traitors.

What was worse than that was that they had to be captured alive. He and Itachi had traced the leaks back to Danzo and ROOT, but the Council would never move on 'such an established member of the community' without the kind of hard evidence a confession would provide. No, the spies had to be taken alive and caught in the act, with witnesses.

This was why he was skulking through trees on the far end of the fighting with a couple of genin under his command instead of fighting with his teammates. So bothersome. At least the genin were moving quietly. Shikamaru held up his hand in the signal for them to stop and motioned for them to begin to fan out. They complied; Shikamaru carefully crept to where his information said the spies would be, a patch in the forest like any other, with trees and grass, and a friendly log to hide behind. Actually, that was a nice little rise over there; it might be a good place to try cloud watching if he didn't want to be found at his regular spot.

Inching forward, he slipped into the familiar weight of the shadows. Even without chakra, they slid against his skin like cold sunlight and he used them to move even closer, balancing his weight on the balls of his feet, waiting.

"… followed."

That single word told him two things: that he was close enough to listen in and that they were meeting Kabuto. He had only heard Orochimaru's mad mednin once, but it was enough to remember him.

"No. Too much attention is on Danzo and the attack."

Interesting. He'd assumed that they were reporting back to Sound, but with Danzo's oversight. Were they working independently? That was distinctly… less useful. Maybe they could just kill them after all. His mind already exploring the many different ways dead bodies could be used as evidence to just get _rid_ of that troublesome old man; Shikamaru began discreetly feeling the shadows in the area.

A third voice spoke. Just as he suspected. "Does this mean that we finally get to leave the cursed village, Kabuto-sama? Is our job finally done?"

He didn't anticipate too much resistance from Ichimaru Michi or Ichimaru Mai. Kabuto would be the problem. He grimaced. Kabuto was not someone he could take lightly. He needed to take his genin team into consideration. A single mistake in holding anyone could be costly. If he attacked, his timing would have to be perfect. He mentally sighed. For now, he would watch and listen.

"It will be time very soon. I need your cooperation just a little longer."

"But you promised," Mai said, her tone hurt. "It wasn't my fault that Haruno bitch interfered with our experiment!"

"In a few hours it will hardly matter," Michi said. "Konoha will be overrun. You'll have all the access to clan corpses you could want. We're not fighters, Kabuto-sama. We've done our part."

"Konoha will not be defeated in one attack. Your position within the council, and at the hospital, will be more valuable than ever in the days ahead. What is the new information that you have for me?"

Shikamaru had heard enough. He extended his control to the shadows in the glen and made a grab for Kabuto, signaling the genin to begin the attack.

Kabuto sensed him a half second before his shadows reached him and jumped away from his spies. Shikamaru left the Ichimaru siblings to the genin and lunged after him, determined to bring him down. Kabuto saw him coming and reacted.

Shikamaru had to dodge a fast barrage of poisoned needles and let his shadows do the tracking as he darted into the high branches of the nearby trees, using their cover and shadows to disappear for a single moment before skidding silently down the smooth bark straight at Kabuto. Before he had even started to move, Kabuto disappeared with a poof. The hiss of senbon had him rolling behind another tree.

A clone.

Frowning, he sighed and turned back to check on his genin team. They had managed to tie both Mai and Michi together and little Hotoka was holding them at kunai point while the other two were acting as lookouts from a safe distance.

Well, he hadn't really expected to catch Kabuto anyway. He was over ninety-eight percent sure that they'd been meeting with a clone to begin with. This trap hadn't been for him. Dealing with Orochimaru's right hand man would have required a little more strategy. Troublesome. And while Shikamaru would have loved to take the opportunity to put Kabuto out of commission, his escape left them with certain… options.

Ichimaru Mai was shrieking, loudly protesting her innocence and calling for representation. Her brother's glasses had slid down his nose and he was glaring at the world. Hotoka looked more and more irritated each passing second, and Shikamaru gave him the nod he had apparently been waiting for, and he knocked them both out. Now that they had the two, they couldn't risk a suicide.

Shikamaru stepped forward and painstakingly sent a little of his chakra into their system; he had just enough knowledge of the human body to ensure that they would be unconscious until someone removed the chakra block.

"Let's get them back to the tower. We've got a guard set up on the under level to relieve you. Then you three will report back to the rest of the genin and guard the Academy kids like nothing had happened, understood?"

The genin nodded and moved into formation. Shikamaru took out the scroll which would transfer the lot of them to the predetermined spot in the tower. He'd escort them to make sure the hand-off took place before returning to the fight he could still hear if he concentrated. It was vital that the Ichimarus be kept well-guarded and secret, but the sooner he could get back to kicking Sound and Cloud out of Konoha, the happier he would be.

* * *

**_Thank you for reading! Please comment!_**


	21. Burn it to the Ground

Notes are at the bottom of the chapter since they contain some minor spoilers for this chapter.

Why are you still reading this?

Just Enough

* * *

_6 Years Ago  
_Uchiha Compound

Itachi was unhurried as he finished dressing after his much needed shower. The warm smells of dinner would have been worth waiting to be clean, but his mother disapproved of a certain amount of blood at the dinner table. Plus, he didn't particular care to stay in the clothing he had worn while tracking Orochimaru's trail for four days through only kami knew what. The quiet had the added benefit of giving him a moment to consider the faintly smug smile Fugaku had worn right up until he had noticed that his eldest had returned. Sasuke had appeared faintly subdued from his usual mannerisms and there had been a cautiousness to him that was welcome but unexpected.

But it was Fugaku's expression and body language that most interested him. Clearly it had something to do with his little brother and the clan was involved. Eyes narrowing, he considered what exactly his foolish Oto-chan could possibly have done in the four days he had been gone to please himself so greatly. And what Sasuke had managed to _let him _do… the day Sasuke grew some spine couldn't come soon enough. Rolling his shoulders one more time, he padded silently into the dining area to join his family for their evening meal. They had already started – Fugaku rarely waited for anyone – and his ka-chan was attempting to coax answers out of Sasuke about his training, but from the sound of it Sasuke had slipped back into monosyllabic answers.

Typical and a sure sign that his foolish little brother was internally sulking even if he refused to show it. Wishing he had thought to eat before returning, he slipped open the shoji and nodded his respects before settling at the table. Sasuke looked torn between relieved to see him and grumpy that he had to share attention.

Nodding his thanks to his ka-chan he set about filling his plate, amused that neither Sasuke nor Fugaku seemed willing to break the silence. Itachi was pleased to see that his early assessment had been correct and that none of his internal irritation appeared on Sasuke's expression, although it appeared he was in need of extra instruction on how to hold himself physically. Surely Kakashi would get around to teaching his team the importance of body language, since it was clear none of them had the inclination to do it themselves?

"We were just discussing with Sasuke how his new training regime was going." Mikoto said into the silence, a small smile on her face as she looked at her youngest.

Itachi raised a brow as he chewed his rice in a silent question.

Sasuke scowled at him. "It went well."

Fugaku set his chopsticks down and stared at his son in clear disapproval. "You will do better than 'well', Sasuke. When Itachi was your age he was already a chunin receiving extra training for a position in ANBU. We expect better."

Itachi wondered if Sasuke had learned that 'we' was the clan and they would always expect better. Then the way his brother nodded and tucked back into rice clearly showed that he hadn't.

"It is necessary for you to do your best Sasuke." Mikoto said firmly, ignoring Fugaku's outburst. "I know that you are disappointed that you will not be retaking the chunin exams in six months with your old team but it is for the best."

"Yes, ka-chan," Sasuke agreed, eyes dark.

Ah. So that was what they had done and why Fugaku was staring at him with hard eyes. The clan _had_ been very busy. There had always been a certain amount of clan disapproval for Sasuke's team and what little Itachi had bothered to notice had led him to believe they were near useless. The kyuubi's carrier had no control and even less discipline; the weak, ridiculously pink-haired girl did show some signs of some intelligence and an interesting ability to manipulate chakra, but she was clearly coddled and had very little to offer his brother as a teammate… and the clan seemed to have finally found the wedge needed to break them apart. The failure of the Chunin exam wasn't completely unexpected after the performance he had witnessed in the Forest.

Still, they had managed to keep Orochimaru from getting too close to Sasuke. He found it interesting that Sasuke had apparently chosen to distance himself so fully from his team when in the past he had been reluctant to discuss them with his parents. That sort of change suggested coaching. But Fugaku wasn't watching him with hard eyes because he was worried that Itachi would disagree about the Sasuke's old team – Itachi certainly didn't care who Sasuke was teamed with as long as they didn't get him killed – but because the clan was uneasy. Itachi kept his face completely bland, hiding his internal amusement. They were finally realizing that the extent of their control in his life was far less than they wanted and they didn't want him to influence Sasuke.

"The meal is delicious, ka-chan."

Her smile of thanks prompted him to nod and return to his food. Let Fugaku think what he wanted. He was perfectly aware that the clan was going to use this time as an attempt to shape Sasuke into what they wanted and in a few years he would be deemed 'worthy' and placed back onto a team that was acceptable to both his parents and the clan. Once that happened, Sasuke would be expected to move up the ranks quickly.

Itachi had some remaining hope that Sasuke would grow a spine between now and his next chunin exam; Kakashi _was_ known for his disregard of certain unspoken rules. Perhaps something would rub off. Interesting that the clan had agreed to leave Sasuke in his charge; his eyes cut to his ka-chan thoughtfully. He was very aware that Fugaku had placed the same pressure on his ka-chan to move Sasuke up into genin quickly that he had when he'd been that age. The idea that the clan expected Sasuke to surpass him at some point in his career was pitiful and amusing. The very fact that the clan had been forced to pull Sasuke off of his team for special training should have been proof enough that Sasuke lacked the mental focus to surpass him in any way. But the clan would continue to try.

Especially once his current plans came to fruit.

"Are you leaving again tomorrow, Itachi?"

"Hokage-sama has given me a few days to rest." Itachi said simply.

"It will be nice to have you home," Mikoto said with a smile. "Should I expect Hana-san or Itsuki-san to stop by over the next few days?"

"Perhaps," Itachi said noncommittal.

Fugaku grunted his displeasure at the idea of any clansmen other than their own inside the compound walls. Itachi briefly considered baiting Hana to come and disrupt his Oto-san's well structured life and then mentally shrugged.

Once she knew he was back she would volunteer herself.

X

___Present Day  
_Konoha Village_  
_

Sakura smelled smoke before they were close enough to even begin catching glimpses of the Hokage monument through the trees. They were moving at a fast, chakra burning pace that was pushing her to the edges of her stamina but that was okay. Right now it was more important to have top speed to return to Konoha. It was actually the smell that gave her the best clue for a timeline. To have the wind push the smoke this far into the surrounding woods meant that Sound and Cloud had started burning _hours_ before. There was no wind, only the push of chakra attacks to move it into the forest. She hadn't bothered to slow down as they raced into the haze blurring the forest; she simply snapped off the medical jutsu that would keep her lungs and eyes clear of any dangerous particles. She couldn't do anything for Itachi until they stopped moving.

She hoped she would find Tsunade near the civilians or tower but she doubted it… especially if Orochimaru had entered the village. She hoped Jiraiya was still around to watch her back. Orochimaru…

He hated Konoha with the burning passion of the truly insane, but that would only be part of his goal here. She could make a good guess at what he'd said to convince Cloud to align with Sound; Cloud wanted the secrets of the Hyuuga bloodline just as badly as Orochimaru wanted the sharingan. Just as badly as he wanted Sasuke.

He'd be in Konoha – the destruction of the village was personal to him. And if he was around Sasuke, Orochimaru would be hunting him. Her adrenaline began to pound through her body at the thought, and she clenched her teeth as she ran, forcing herself to think straight. Her first priority was Tsunade and then she would worry about Sasuke. And if she found out he had slipped away from Naruto she would beat him bloody.

Itachi hadn't faltered from their set pace and now that they were actually within smelling distance from their burning home, he began to steadily increase their speed. Her eyes narrowed and she extended her senses to find that his chakra was flaring hot and bright – and steady as a heartbeat. His stamina was amazing…

And to cut off the completely inappropriate thoughts which tempted her to think about anything other than her home _burning_, Sakura reached into her emergency pouch and took out a standard issue soldier pill. He may not need one, but she wasn't going in to battle Orochi-_freakin'_-maru without being on the top of her game.

She popped the pill, noting the minute adjustments in their course as Itachi began to lead them away from the most direct route to the gates. Not bothering to ask where they were going – she'd trust him unless he gave her reason not to – she simply increased her speed.

By the time they reached Konoha, the air was thick with smoke and expelled chakra. Blinking through the haze, she looked around, not recognizing their location. The wall in front of them was most certainly Konoha but how…

The hiss of metal un-sheathing caught her attention. Itachi had pulled out a kunai and used it to prick the tips of three fingers. Re-sheathing the blade, he waited until the blood had beaded before reaching up and dancing them across the complex stone in front of her. Sakura's heart started to hammer in her ears as the stone separated and opened to the back of the Uchiha complex.

Silently he motioned her forward and Sakura slid through the opening just before it closed. Reaching out, she caught him by the sleeve. He paused and lowered his eyes to stare at her. She would think about what this meant later, letting her see this secret. Eyes scanning the immediate area, letting the bursts of chakra in the air hide hers; she went through the same jutsu she had performed earlier on herself. Itachi studied her for a moment before nodding his thanks and moving his hand in a sharp command.

_Follow_.

Sakura made a point to follow his footsteps exactly. This far into the Uchiha compound all but guaranteed heavy traps and guards; Sasuke had dropped the occasional hint over the years when Naruto was being his most pesky about sneaking in and murdering certain clansmen. Sakura did not want to risk accidentally tripping something she was unaware of; something that would react badly to anything that wasn't Uchiha blood.

Itachi led them through the Uchiha compound without incident. There was a strange sort of buzzing chakra coming from the center of the village and it was making the hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stand up. She couldn't wait until they made it out of there – she needed to find out what was causing this sensation. It felt unnatural and wrong. She glanced at Itachi for any sign to see if he'd noticed, but of course his face was a perfect stoic mask.

"I need to find Tsunade," she said, choosing to talk before they got into the thick of things. "In the event of an emergency, my orders are to go straight to her and provide cover unless she dispatches me to the wounded."

Itachi nodded, a terse minute gesture. "The compound is still secure. The Hokage will be where the most trouble is."

Sakura nodded and stayed close to his heels. It didn't take long before the familiar gate to the compound came into view. From the sounds outside it, it was clear that several nin were attempting to enter. Itachi was unhurried, but the way he shifted his weight changed his gate to the familiar, stalking strides that told Sakura they would be cutting their way to Tsunade.

Or at least, until they reached the rooftops.

"Holy hell," Sakura whispered. "What in the name of kami…"

Erected in the middle of town was a large, square glowing – _field_ of some kind. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was staring at the source of the _wrong_ feeling chakra. There were figures moving on the inside, but she couldn't see any more than blurs through the shimmering field. Glancing around, Sakura quickly took stock of the chakra signatures and destruction around them.

There was a mass of chakra signatures in the direction of the Hyuuga compound – expected, considering Cloud's goals – and a hell of a lot of smoke. She couldn't see through the mist there either, but the Hyuuga were not her concern. There was fighting all along the walls and some of the Sound-nin had made their way into town, but were being held off before they could reach the civilians. She didn't see Tsunade. She didn't see Naruto or Sasuke.

"We have to get closer," she said before springing off the roof and making her way towards the field. Itachi had said that the Hokage would be where the most trouble was – and as far as she could tell, that was that pulsating chakra square in the middle of her village.

They finally skidded into the area demolished by the dome and Sakura squinted into it. It was hard to make anything out through this smoke, even with her jutsu. The chakra-thick shield was almost blinding if she watched it with unfocused eyes. It was impossible to feel anything inside the shield and she shifted her gaze to Itachi. His eyes were watching something to her left so she turned calmly, hand going to the kunai pouch on her thigh.

Three ANBU members appeared, masks firmly in place.

"Uchiha-san," the one wearing the tiger mask spoke. His hand moved in a complicated hand gesture that Sakura couldn't follow but Itachi must have made some movement behind her because some tension she hadn't seen was just… gone.

"We have experts working on the seals, but so far the shield is impenetrable," said the ANBU with the dog mask. "Hokage-sama is trapped in there by Orochimaru. Jiraiya-sama is with her. He used a resurrection jutsu and—"

"The kages," Sakura said, her mouth dry as the Sandaime came into view. "Oh kami, he's using the kages." The battle raged within the shield as Tsunade was being forced to fight her father, her grandfather… And she couldn't get to her to help.

"That is not Orochimaru." Itachi said flatly, the monotone of his voice served to emphasize the importance of his words.

"What?" Sakura turned to face him her eyes wide, "It has to be. He performed the blood resurrection! Only Orochimaru has enough power to—"

"That is _not_ Orochimaru, Sakura."

Itachi stared at her and refused to provide any other evidence than the swirling of his sharingan. Unfortunately, the ANBU with the dog mask also had sharingan visible, and _he_ had said it was Orochimaru – surely Itachi's sharingan was not that far advanced. She swore, they didn't have _time_ for this, and turned all her attention to the fight inside the chakra field, her fingers blaring through a technique that would allow her to flare her chakra senses as she set aside all assumptions and, for a moment, just watched.

It _felt_ like Orochimaru. But he was avoiding the confrontation with Jiraiya which was as out of his characters as Sasuke avoiding a fight with Naruto. He had the kages fighting for him instead, a fact which made her recoil with the wrongness of it – using Konoha's greatest protectors to destroy Konoha, only Orochimaru would be that twisted. And yet – there. She could sense corpses. Far more

"How many Sound-nin were within that barrier, ANBU," she snapped the question.

"Ten," he reported.

Ten. With ten blood sacrifices… "_Fuck_." Ten blood sacrifices would be enough for a clone to do the jutsu and remain in control. Orochimaru had sacrificed ten of his most powerful shinobi in a desperate gambit to trap his old teammates, turn the old kages against them, and keep the ANBU attention on the fight inside the chakra shield while he was free to do whatever he wanted. It was brilliant. _Where was he?_

Sakura closed her eyes, and expanded her senses outward, but her jutsu ran out in a snap which caused her to stumble. So if she couldn't find him using her senses, she would have to reason it out. _Why would he do this?_

"Damnit!" She turned wide eyes to Itachi. "Sasuke!"

X

Naruto ducked underneath a shuriken and watched out of the corner of his eye as one of his kage bushin gutted the sound-nin with a kunai. They were holding the ground between the gates and the tunnel that the civilians and genin had used to hide from the brunt of the invading force, responding to a surge of nin that had overwhelmed the ANBU forces already there. They had barely made it to the line before they were ambushed by what appeared to be a mixture nin from Sound and Cloud.

Throwing himself at the nin who was trying to attack Sasuke's blind side, he snarled as he shoved his fist through the enemy's chest, the chakra around his hand a bleeding crimson. Long hours of fighting were starting to take their toll and everything was sharpening around the edges; he didn't bother even looking as he reached out with a clawed hand to rip out another nin's throat – he could smell him.

Just like he could smell the stench of who had directed _this_ ambush. He bared his teeth and snarled in inhuman challenge.

"Dammit, Naruto, get yourself _under control_!" Sasuke's voice lashed at him over the din of the battle. A moment later, the familiar crackling of a Chidori cut through several nin not wearing headbands.

Twisting around he pressed his spine up against Sasuke's and calculated how many more fucking shinobi there were to kill and bared his fangs. A flicker of movement caught his attention and he twisted around and howled at the sight of the prey he had been hunting.

"_Kabuuuutooo_."

Sasuke swore furiously under his breath and lunged forward, cutting of Naruto's immediate line of sight. Throwing a handful of kunai too gain some breathing room he snapped his hands through the familiar jutsu and let loose a fireball.

"It's a fucking _trap_!"

Naruto bared his fangs and gathered the chakra closer to his skin, letting it wash over him in a red, burning rage. _Kabuto_. The arrogant bastard who had helped Orochimaru trap Baa-chan in that damn chakra field that wouldn't budge no matter how hard he threw himself at it. Howling his fury, he snapped his fingers through a jutsu and relished the way he could feel the heat of it scalding through his veins. Sasuke bit off something filthy behind him and he snarled as the rasengan formed in his hand. Lunging forward, he used it to clear the path between him and his target.

Kabuto would _die_ _today_.

Sasuke was forced to follow Naruto, using his chakra-enhanced speed to keep up – Naruto _was once again_ lunging into a fight without _thinking_; the rage of the Kyuubi turning his chakra dark red and crackling around him; giving him the control he needed for the damn rasengan to work without a clone. Fuck. Tails were going to start forming soon and they didn't have time the _fucking time_ to deal with personal grudges.

Kabuto was leading them further and further away from the tree cover, away from the village, trumpeting to anyone with _half a brain_ that they were being set up. He wasn't scared for Naruto – in this heightened state the dobe would be able to take Kabuto on just fine, right along with the gnats that one of Naruto's clones kept picking out of trees. But Sasuke didn't have as much faith in Naruto's control. If Kabuto managed to provoke him, or drug him, or do something to bring out the Kyuubi…

"Fucking hell, dobe," he hissed, trailing a bare foot away from him as they raced after Kabuto, "if you make me knock you out to subdue that thing I swear to _kami_ you'll regret it."

Naruto didn't respond, his brow was furrowed and Sasuke recognized that look on his face for the strange sort of intensity that always meant that he was coming up with the most off the wall strategy... one of the ones which by all logic, shouldn't work, but always did. They burst through the tree cover and into a wide clearing, with Kabuto waiting for them in the center, smiling. Naruto skidded to a halt a few feet away from Kabuto and growled.

"You're going to _die_, Kabuto."

"Ah, Naruto-kun," Kabuto snapped his fingers. Ten more Sound-nin appeared. "We all die sometime. Today is not _my_ day."

Sasuke cursed when the Sound-nin cut him off from Naruto, but it was the flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye that caught his immediate attention. Twisting around, he studied the waving green grass and tensed, scanning the area. The shinobi at his back weren't even bothering with him and his dark eyes narrowed into slits because that meant…

Near the back of the forest the waist high grass started to move, as if it was caught in a sudden breeze. Bringing his hands up in front of him into the start of a familiar jutsu, he watched at the movement, knowing what was coming even though the Sannin was supposed to be in the chakra dome with the others. A flicker of dark purple tail to the left and then the dark head of Nagi lifted into the clearing. The large, narrow mouth opened wide with a snarling hiss that was familiar and the face and upper torso of Orochimaru was clearly visible resting in-between Nagi's fangs.

Bloody. Fucking. Hells. Sasuke swore internally as he completed the jutsu with a snap before immediately starting on another one. This was one Sakura had pounded into Team Seven – literally – a medical jutsu which, when activated with the sharingan, allowed him to perceive hidden traps. Orochimaru had _chosen_ this battleground; Sasuke would be a fool to think he hadn't prepared it thoroughly.

'_Do not let him touch you_.' His brother's words echoed through his mind, and Sasuke smiled grimly for a moment, his eyes burning red with his bloodline limit. _No one ever said anything about me touching him._

If his past experience was anything to go by, Orochimaru would waste at least a minute gloating. That should be enough time to think of and implement a plan. The fact that Orochimaru wanted his body mostly undamaged would give him room to maneuver and he would need those edges in this fight. The jutsu he had completed would take a few more moments to flair in warning for those pockets of chakra. Nagi was coiled into a strike position and he kept an eye on her movements, waiting for the obvious move from Orochimaru. It came in the form of his body stretching into a long, thin slide of white scales that flowed out between Nagi's fangs. The white-scaled body that rolled in the impression of dozens of snakes, slipped into the tall grass to rise up half a dozen yards from where Sasuke was standing.

Grimly, Sasuke watched as _Nan no Kaizō_ rippled strangely, snakes wiggling and twisting around each other as they slid back into skin and bone. Orochimaru was arrogant enough to believe him stunned with shock at his appearance and each moment was buying him time – the jutsu was starting to flare in faint bursts of power along the field but it wasn't finished. Attacking Orochimaru now would limit the choices he had to attack and the idea niggling in the back of his head would take time.

Time he had to buy.

Orochimaru undulated a few steps towards Sasuke and licked his lips with that ridiculously long tongue of his. "At last," he said, the 's' slightly more sibilant than normal speech, "we have some time alone."

Sasuke said nothing, and his face was impassive. He did not even allow his eyes to narrow in disgust. He just watched as Orochimaru continued to slowly advance as he felt the jutsu settle over him. Traps across the field sprung up into his vision, highlighted in shades of red.

Orochimaru stopped a good distance away from him, out of range for his hands, and close enough for that tongue to try to get him. He dropped his gaze and slowly dragged it up Sasuke's body, a leer distorting his features. "Well, it seems as if you've taken good care of your body for me. Shame that we've had to wait so long. You would have been so deliciously moldable younger."

"Fucking Orochimaru," Naruto shouted from where he was currently occupied with the Sound-nin, "You get the fuck away from him!"

Sasuke wasn't sure who Naruto was talking to, but he knew that he did not like the way that Orochimaru smirked at his words. "That would be difficult, Naruto-kun, since I plan on spending a long, long time with Sasuke-kun, here. It's a shame it's taken so long… I have a lot of lost time to make up for."

Then his smile widened, the muscles in his arm bunching and flexing outward. Sasuke flung himself backwards, unwilling to take his eyes off Orochimaru and trusting none of the nin Naruto were fighting was close enough to be a danger. The first movement against the bones in Orochimaru's wrist told Sasuke what he was dealing with: _Sen'eitajashu_. His eyes narrowed as long, streaming snakes followed him; jaws open and fangs glinting in the smoky air. Cursing he sprang up and out, keeping an eye on the glitters of color around him. As soon as he used another jutsu the medical would disappear and if he was using _Sen'eitajashu_ that meant…

Even with the Sharingan he had to move fast. Orochimaru only had to bite him to pass along the mark and with his sharp fangs and an extendable neck; it was a matter of just getting close enough. The snakes were a diversion and he released the medical jutsu, fingers flying through a series of seals. When Orochimaru's elongated neck and extended fangs cleared the rest of the nuisance snakes he blew through his fingers, _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_.

They were only a few yards apart when they landed on the ground. Orochimaru's disgusting smile was still in place and he looked inordinately pleased with himself. Naruto was raging from behind a pile of bodies and Sasuke was mentally laying the map of red dots over where he was currently standing. Laying down jutsu traps so that he didn't have to show the seals for the technique was a technique Sasuke wouldn't put past the snake. Which meant whatever Orochimaru's plan; it involved forcing him into the tall grass… and he wasn't worried about Naruto or the fox.

"Oh, _very_ impressive, Sasuke-kun. Such... dexterity." His tongue was running along his lips and he curled his fingers into the beginning of a jutsu. "I am pleased to see you have prepared yourself for me."

Orochimaru wasn't bothering to keep his voice low and Naruto was screaming from the sideline a series of expletives that would have been impressive under any other circumstances. His eyes were red and wild and the air around him was shifting with the suggestion of tails. Before Sasuke could stop him, he watched in disbelief as Naruto howled in fury, lifted the dead body of a cloud-nin and threw it at Orochimaru. The Sannin grinned and leapt away – leaving the impromptu weapon to crash right into a tangle of red threads that roared to life with the sounds of rushing, terrible winds. Cursing viciously, he kept his eyes on Orochimaru. He had stood in the wake of the _Rasengan_ enough to know the feel of a wind jutsu and he curled his fingers to disappear under ground to let the gale force winds rush by him. It risked coming up to the unknown but…

The grass around Orochimaru twisted and swirled and water flowed upward in jagged spikes just as the worst of the winds ripped through the clearing. Flickering in and out of the ground, he came up in time to watch Orochimaru use Nagi to escape the ring of water.

_Suiton: Suigadan_… which meant…

"You're letting him too close, foolish little brother."

* * *

First, we would like to say that this chapter _was a bitch_. We've had 90% of it planned out for months now, but Orochimaru was being a drama queen like you would not believe and refused to be written. Couple that with a series of crazy life experiences (some good, some bad) and things just sort of stalled out. Since we have the entirety of this story planned out, it will be finished but it won't be next week when we update again. =)

Especially since, obviously, Orochimaru is in the next chapter too. Jerk.

_**Please Comment.**_


	22. Raze His Head

Well, we told you it would take a while. We honestly didn't expect this much time to pass. Since things are starting to wrap up, we've got to make sure we don't screw up so...

Not much to say this time. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Just Enough

* * *

_Almost 3 Years Ago  
_Hokage Tower**  
**

"Name the six cranial bones and give me two antidotes to cholinergics type poison."

"Parietal, temporal, frontal, occipital, ethmoid, sphenoid; two possible antidotes are Atropine and Pralodixime in Organophosphate Overdose."

Tsunade looked up from her scroll and a faint smile tugged at her mouth. "Better. You didn't hesitate this time."

Sakura tried to smile back and stifled the instinct to bounce on her toes. "I've been reading."

"I can see." Tsunade agreed before turning her attention back to her scroll. Sakura stifled a sigh of relief.

The worst part about being a mednin was that even the slightest margin of error could equal in the death of someone she cared about. As a team, as a genin, there had been room to make mistakes because her team had been there to fill in. Not here. Never here. At least her stomach no longer knotted up until she felt sick when she approached a new situation. Over the last few months, she had even started to enjoy the challenges that Tsunade had started to give her. She liked knowing what she was doing and she liked being the one who could solve problems that only a limited number of shinobi had the ability to fix. One day, she was going to be able to kick death in the teeth. She _dared_Naruto and Sasuke to leave her behind then.

"Since you are excelling at your reading, you won't mind taking a few more scrolls home with you tonight. Tomorrow, Shizune will test you on the list of poisons and how they affect the human nervous system that I gave you this morning."

"Yes, sensei."

Standing on tiptoe, she pushed the last scroll into place. Today was one of the rare days Shizune had actually managed to pin Tsunade to her desk before dark to work on paperwork. Those days she found herself working in the hospital, chasing various mednin around to observe or shut up in the library reading through dusty scrolls. But today Tsunade had decided to reorganize her own personal library and Sakura had spent the afternoon dusting and alphabetizing. Reaching up, she stretched her spine and sighed as the lower vertebrae popped. She was looking forward to her sparring session with Lee. After a long day of cleaning, a good work out and fresh air was just what she needed.

"You may go Sakura."

Startled, she looked out the window. No, she hadn't lost track of time. Turning her gaze to her sensei, she found Tsunade staring out the window, chin propped up on her knuckles. Hesitating just long enough for Tsunade to glance back over her, she simple bowed her thanks and slipped out the door. No need to tempt her into finding some other task for her to. Pausing on the stairwell, she took the time to stretch one more time and pondered the possibility of a light snack before her sparing session. Lunch seemed a long time ago. Almost skipping down the stairs, Sakura turned the corner to head back to the front doors when a glimpse of bright blonde hair froze her in place. What was _Ino_ doing here?

Before Sakura had a chance to decide if she would walk passed her like she hadn't even seen her or sneak out a back exit, she had been spotted. "Sakura," Ino said.

She blinked, and then nodded hesitantly, "Ino." A nod and greet – she could do that. She'd have to. The village wasn't _that_ large.

The blonde hesitated before marching forward, a determined expression on her face. "Are you hungry?"

"Huh?"

Ino crossed her arms and stared down at her, lips pressing together for a moment before she tried again. "I wondered if you wanted to go get something to eat."

What was Ino doing here? The last time she had seen her had been when Shikamaru had broken his leg months ago and things had hardly gone well. Ino had been openly hostile – even taking into considering the girl's surprise at seeing her, her dislike of hospitals and concern over her teammate, there had been undercurrents that went far deeper than just her being uncomfortable. Squaring her shoulders, Sakura took a deep breath.

"Is there something you need?"

Ino put one hand on her hip and jutted it towards her, "Look, do you want to go out to eat with me or not? I'm buying. One-time offer."

What was making Ino so determined for her company? They'd gone for months without seeing each other after Team Seven broke up, and now Ino not only showed up and wanted to take her to lunch, but she wanted to _pay_? Sakura had half a mind to turn on her heel and just walk away. But she had been trained by masters in the art of cheapskate and found the offer of a free meal hard to turn down. "Fine. I've got some time. Where are we going?"

Ino openly relaxed at her response and tossed her hair, chin tilting up. "I bet you don't remember what real food tastes like, working here all the time. You'll thank me for this later."

'Real food' ended being one of the Akimichi Clan's outdoor stands. Ino was greeted by name and Sakura found herself tucked onto one of the benches while Ino went and collected the food. She returned with a plate filled with steaming Kushiyaki and was balancing two jars of what might have been tea.

"Here. Meat and vegetables."

Sakura picked up one of the skewers and refused to comment about the salt. Instead, she took a careful bite and had to admit that the quality was far superior to the same food offered at the hospital. Ino seemed content to ignore her while she worked through several of the skewers. Finally she tilted her head over at her and frowned.

"I thought you were going to eat, not just stare at my superior manners and flawless technique."

Sakura put her second skewer down and curled her fingers around her tea. "I'm meeting Lee soon to spar."

Ino pulled back, her frown becoming more pronounced. She crossed her arms under her ample chest and stared at Sakura as if she was attempting to get inside her mind. Sakura met her gaze, her eyes narrowing. The long silence was enough to make her grind her teeth.

"What are you doing with Lee, Sakura? He's a freak. He can't even sense chakra."

Sakura clenched her fingers. Why? She knew that Lee was a bit… exuberant. But he'd been the only one to consistently stick by her. She wasn't just going to sit here and let him be insulted. She took a deep breath, "Lee is on his way to becoming a taijutsu expert, and he offered to train with me. Because he's my friend."

Ino's flinch was barely perceptible and Sakura blinked when she looked away. "Oh."

'Oh?' What was that supposed to mean? "Ino…" Sakura stopped and then tried again. "Ino, why did you… invite me here?"

Ino shifted, reluctant to meet her gaze. Sakura waited, picking up her skewer and picking at the remaining meat. Finally, Ino sighed. "I wanted to know what was going on."

Sakura looked up, baffled. "What do you mean?"

Ino waved a hand in the air before curling her fingers into a knot. "You're not you!"

"You're… _playing mednin_ with Tsunade-sama," She leaned forward, both hands curled into fists, her voice dropping into a hiss. "This isn't _you_! Acting all professional and disconnected – are you doing this for Sasuke-kun? Trying to prove that you're good enough, because I've got news for you Sakura, no one in the Uchiha Clan is going to care how good a medic you are. You're never going to be good enough. Who do you think you are?"

Sakura automatically shifted her weight on the bench, fingers tightening on the skewer – her most obvious weapon – and then forced herself to relax. Ino's eyes were narrowed and she would not, could not allow herself to brawl here. Deliberately she popped a piece of meat into her mouth and chewed until she had her temper under control. Swallowing, she set the rest of the meal aside.

"Thank you for lunch, Yamanaka-san."

Ino narrowed her eyes. "What do you think you are doing?"

"It is time for me to spar with Lee and I make a point not to be late."

Ino tossed her hair and frowned darkly at the stranger staring back at her. The Sakura who had been her friend would have picked up the food and thrown it at her, screaming that Sasuke was hers. This… _this_ Sakura was watching her with a closed off expression, as if she was too good to answer her accusations. This was the girl who had developed from the cry baby she had protected.

"I don't know you anymore."

Sakura hesitated, biting her lip before slowly shaking her head. "No. You don't. You didn't ask."

"Ask what?"

Sakura bowed. "Good bye, Ino."

Ino crossed her arms as she turned away. "This isn't over."

Sakura didn't turn and Ino glared at her as she walked away before picking up the last skewer and biting down. No, it wasn't over. It was becoming clear that Sakura had aspirations that were still above her head. Ino didn't care how she managed to get into Tsunade's good graces, but the Sakura she had once called a friend would never had handled the pressure of life and death.

No, there was something else going on here and she, Ino, was going to find out.

X

___Present Day  
_Konoha Village_  
_

Itachi moved just fast enough that she had to push to keep up with him. Sakura didn't know who he had locked in on, but finding Naruto was easy – he was pulsing with red-hot chakra; enough of it that it was starting to blur the signatures around him. Sakura cursed under her breath. Odds were he was sprouting tails and dammit, Sasuke should have gotten a handle on him.

Unless Sasuke was dealing with something else.

She heard Naruto's howls before she saw him. The tree line opened into a familiar clearing and she had just a moment to examine the scene before she threw herself straight into it. Itachi would go straight to Orochimaru and Sasuke which left her with Naruto – and _Kabuto_. Then chakra-winds whipped through the clearing at hurricane force and she drove her feet into the ground with chakra and caught Naruto's fox-red eyes with her own.

"_Naruto_!"

He bared his fangs and snarled. His eyes cut over her shoulder and he howled, uncaring of the winds threatening to rip him off his feet and lunged. Sakura swore again and rolled; letting the dying jutsu carry her away from whatever had set Naruto off again. Twisting around she cursed when she caught sight of Kabuto moving to engage Naruto.

Ripping his head off was effective but an unlikely tactic when dealing with the crazed mednin. There was very little chance that that was the real Kabuto and she couldn't pull him out into the open yet; not with Naruto in this state. Snapping off a few more expletives she grabbed the sharp edge of her kunai and sliced it against her thumb. Snapping through a jutsu that had become as familiar to her as the most basic medical jutsu – _Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram_ – she slammed both hands on the ground, using the force to push her forward into a roll; pulling a tagged kunai from her thigh pouch and throwing it straight forward at the fighting pair.

The chakra surge hit her system like an anvil but the earlier use of the soldier pill swallowed the exhaustive summons. Kabuto disappeared as expected just before the flash of the tag and a screaming, tail-sprouting Naruto disappeared under the full weight of a medium sized snail. She hadn't dared to use the energy required to summon Katsuyu, there would have been no way she could have directed the Slug Bosses weight to drop on top of Naruto in battle. Skidding to a stop she caught her breath and allowed herself a moment to glance at the surging of chakra that was the Sasuke-Itachi-Orochimaru battle.

The colorful, furious cursing coming from under the snail was a relief. Naruto only cursed like that when he was Naruto. The snail wiggled its eyestalks at her and she gave it a faint, congratulatory grin. She could already imagine Sasuke's expression when he realized her idea of dropping a summons on Naruto had actually _worked_.

"Well, well, Sakura-chan – that was unexpected."

Sakura twisted around and left her back to the snail, searching out the mocking tones. Biting the inside of her cheek to keep from snarling out a reply, she instead deliberately reached for another kunai as she stared Kabuto down.

"I'm partners with Konoha's most surprising shinobi, Kabuto-_kun_," she spat the honorific at him with a feral smile. His betrayal had been the first Team Seven had ever known – he'd sought to set Sasuke up like a dango on a stick for Orochimaru and that was something that she would never, ever forgive. "I'm bound to pick up a few tricks."

Kabuto's pleasant expression did not falter even as his eyes flickered to Naruto. "'Most surprising,' indeed. Most surprising that he's lived this long with such a sad lack of control. Or do you keep a steady supply of slugs on hand, Sakura-chan?"

Naruto snarled from somewhere behind her, but Sakura didn't take her eyes off Kabuto, even as she threw out a hand, warning Naruto back. "You're a medic, Kabuto-kun, or you were once. How do you live with yourself?"

Kabuto's eyes disappeared completely with his smile, "I'm a shinobi, Sakura-chan. I live the same way you do, the same way Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-kun live. One day at a time."

Sakura's eyes narrowed, "Not for much longer, Kabuto-_kun_."

Naruto moved to stand next to her, hands clenched into fists. "I'm going to rip your _fucking head off_."

The quality of Kabuto's smile changed and Sakura readied herself for anything.

"Not today, Naruto-kun."

The world exploded under her feet.

X

Sasuke split his attention between Itachi and Orochimaru, muscles tense as he kept watch for another trap. The wind storm would have ripped out any of the traps that had been left uncovered, but Orochimaru would have planned for that. There had to be more hidden, under the earth. He just had to find them. With Itachi here, Orochimaru would be forced to split his attention and the growing heat and pressure in the air was giving him an idea. With Sakura handling Naruto, he no longer had to be as concerned about the Kyuubi. He just had to concentrate on ending this as quickly as possible so that his idiot teammates didn't get themselves killed because he wasn't free to watch them.

His body tightened as an explosion rocked through the clearing and Sasuke stifled his gut reaction to turn and look for his team. The day Sakura and Naruto couldn't deal with a simple explosion was the day they'd all end up dead. The disgusting smile curling around Orochimaru's fangs told him who had set up that trap and he pushed his anger into fuel for the fight that would break loose at any moment. Out of the corner of his eye he watched his brother move.

Itachi, the bastard, _glided_ forward, and even with the wind from the explosion going full strength his hair managed to fall perfectly in place. Sasuke didn't spare the time or effort to grit his teeth and kept the main focus of his attention on Orochimaru, but now that Itachi had entered the game the rules had changed… his brother wouldn't have just stepped in without a trap. That just wasn't the way he worked – he always worked in layers. Where was it?

Sasuke refused to just let his brother step in and take control of the situation, even though Orochimaru's attention was very obviously now focused more on Itachi. He just had to understand what Itachi had planned… so that he could take advantage of their distraction. He was not a child anymore. He did not need to be _rescued_. His eyes narrowed slightly as he made his own preparations.

Orochimaru ran his tongue along his lips, teeth glittering. "You do have the most _tiresome_ timing, Itachi-kun. I was all dressed up for a play date with your brother. Why don't you just run along?"

The expression on Itachi's face remained blank, even to the whirls of the sharingan. His voice was equally unaffected, "We've been through this, Orochimaru. Your persistent unoriginality grows dull."

Mentally calculating the time he would need, Sasuke carefully moved to flank the sannin. Orochimaru would run given the chance now that he was facing both of them and he didn't intend to give him the chance. This ended today.

Shifting as if he was looking for something with his feet, Orochimaru lashed out with his tongue. As he moved there was an explosion of chakra from the dirt and a perfect copy sprang up and out. Sasuke cursed and met the _Tsuchi Bunshin no Jutsu_ head on, leaving the real Orochimaru for his brother. Snapping through a taijutsu, he bought himself room to think. The problem with this sort of clone was the amount of energy it took to pull them apart. Ducking a wide swipe of the tongue followed by an exploding Kunai he deliberately stumbled, letting the clone get close.

"_Chidori Senbon_."

Orochimaru's overconfidence held true in his clone and the Chidori erupted from his fingers and he forced it to his will, reshaping the jagged lightening into thousands of sharp, electric needles. They cut into the clone with deadly accuracy, ripping it apart. The heat of the lightening baked the mud, freezing its joints. Screaming, the clone exploded outwards in spray of dirt and mud. Grimacing, Sasuke wiped his face to insure that his vision would remain clear before turning to find the fight his brother was engaged in.

Orochimaru was moving fast, Itachi easily matching his speed hit for hit. Using his tongue, he was trying to buy himself the room he needed to maneuver. Instead of cutting it off, Itachi ducked underneath a strike – straight into Nagi's path.

Disbelieving awe distracted him for a heartbeat as Sasuke watched his brother nimbly move away from those sharp, protruding fangs and he bared his teeth. Only Itachi. Shaking off the familiar feeling of being outclassed, Sasuke was all the more determined to leave his own mark in this fight. He did not need his _Aniki's_ protection – he wasn't scared of the dark anymore. Moving forward, Sasuke flung a tagged kunai straight at Orochimaru's head, and moved to intercept the Sannin's attempt to escape with a well placed kick. His foot met air and Sasuke used the motion to spin around, his body positioned so that he was between Orochimaru and any escape routes.

"So you've finally decided to come to me on your own, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru's tongue flicked out and wet his lips, the light of insanity in his gleaming yellow eyes. "We will do marvelous things together, you and me."

"Dream on," Sasuke snarled. "_Katon Gour-Yuuka No Jutsu!_"

The three dragon-shaped fireballs leapt straight at Orochimaru who flung himself backwards – they brushed close enough to singe the front of his shirt. Snarling, he raised his hands and had just started another jutsu when Nagi's jaws locked around Itachi's chest – his brother exploded. _Clone_. His brother had been a clone and _he hadn't noticed_! Gritting his teeth together, he twisted around to see Itachi drop from a tree, his face set into familiar bored lines as the force of the explosion settled in the open glade.

He had been blocking the escape route from the beginning, probably waiting to see how Sasuke reacted to the fight. Hands fisting, he scowled.

"As short-sighted as ever, Orochimaru."

The sannin hadn't made it out of the blast unscathed and was holding an arm, eyes glittering. Sasuke allowed himself a faint smirk as he felt the clearing noticeably cool thanks to the updraft from both his fireballs and Itachi's explosion. He didn't dare look up to see but he did begin the motions for the jutsu.

"Itachi," Orochimaru hissed. "I've had enough of your interference. You die today."

Itachi's mouth twitch upwards in a barely perceptible movement. "You could not kill me with two hands. If you had any wisdom, you would run."

"No," Sasuke said. His words were an unexpected interference in their usual exchange, and both Itachi and Orochimaru turned to give him their full attention. He stood impassively under the weight of the gaze of two of the most dangerous shinobi in the world, his fingers snapping through the end of his jutsu too quickly for a normal eye to follow. "If he had any wisdom, he would not have come after an Uchiha at all." A smirk tugged at Sasuke's mouth. "I call this _Kirin." _

X

Sakura crouched on a branch, using the tiniest amount of chakra she dared to deal with the eardrum that was ringing thanks to the explosion. Her face and arms stung from the debris it had kicked up, but she had managed to dodge the worst of it. Mouth set, she grimly took stock of the area as the smoke cleared and gritted her teeth at the smiling visage of Kabuto. She didn't see Naruto. He had been just far enough from the point of impact that he might have been thrown with the debris if he hadn't caught himself. Several of the missing-nin who had been fighting Naruto had been killed and the ground was littered with remains. She would have to watch to make sure all of them were dead. The few remaining shinobi were circling under her tree with smiles on their faces. She'd have to do something about them before she could get to Kabuto. _Dammit_, with an explosion like that she was going to need to find a way to prove that Kabuto was real and not a clone. It would have been easy to disappear in those few seconds.

_Fuck. _

"Did you like my little explosion? I usually don't care for such messy disposals of my enemies but I have decided to make an exception in your case, Sakura-chan."

"Worried that I'm getting to close, Kabuto?"

"Hardly, but it has allowed me to deal with some of the trash. A pity, there were some excellent specimens I would have enjoyed taking a closer look at."

Bullshit… he was hiding something. Well, a clone could fake chakra but it couldn't fake a heartbeat. Not the clones that Kabuto produced. Snapping her fingers through a familiar jutsu, she allowed the weave of chakra threads to surround them both and smiled sharply as they began to thrum in tune with his heart. She let it expand a hair and made a note that none of the bodies appeared to be alive.

"You're heart is beating awfully fast, Kabuto. Scared?"

Naruto exploded out of a large bolder, hurling himself straight into the few remaining shinobi. She didn't do more than spare him a quick glance. The rest of her attention stayed on Kabuto. Most of the fox-red had faded from Naruto's eyes and the tails had disappeared. Sakura sighed in relief. At least her teammate would be thinking clearly now.

And then there were no more nuke-nin to worry about. That simplified the problem if not the solution. Killing Kabuto was not going to be easy… but she was looking forward to it.

"Sakura, is he real?" The words were bit out between clenched teeth as he yanked a kunai from the chest cavity of one of the bodies.

"Yes. He has a heartbeat and he doesn't have the skill level necessary to create one for a clone."

Kabuto's smile was mocking. "You can't beat me. You have no skill."

Naruto grinned. "Wanna bet?"

The explosion of _Kage Bushin_ was done without hand signals, which meant that Naruto must have used the explosion as a cover earlier. Rushing forward, the group of clones was hit with a barrage of needles. Ducking, Sakura slapped at the ground, rattling the earth and the trees to shove Kabuto off balance, giving Naruto a chance to hit him. Her blonde friend closed the distance fast, fingers snapping through another Kage_ Bushin_ as he hit.

Kabuto ducked under the attack and a used second series of needles to pop the clones before reaching up and hitting Naruto in the chest. Kabuto was going after Naruto's pressure points. If he got a good hit in he could stop his heart. Naruto snarled, rolling into the blow and aiming a kunai for the back of Kabuto's neck. Sakura was there to meet him as Kabuto twisted away from Naruto's attack.

Her fist missed his face by inches and she twisted around, following the original strike with a taijutsu combination. Kabuto sneered as he met her assault, flicking his wrist to launch a series of needles at her face. Ducking, she lashed out with a kick, clipping him in the thigh. He slide away from her and smiled.

"You've improved."

Her eyes glittered and she twisted as the slug everyone had forgotten about belched a lungful of acid. Kabuto twisted around and disappeared into a puff of smoke seconds before the acid slammed into the tree behind him. The snail looked sad as she wiggled her eyestalks goodbye, disappearing into a puff of smoke and Sakura circled slowly, carefully.

"Up here."

Kunai and needles rained down on her head and she disappeared under the earth for two heartbeats before reappearing several feet away from the barrage. Naruto was engaged in another furious round of taijutsu, several clones working to hit Kabuto's week side. The nuke-nin twisted his way out of the assault and kicked Naruto in the back of the head. Naruto dropped out of the trees with a grunt.

Baring her teeth, she slammed her fist into the ground, showering the air with debris to block any attempt to stop her as she lunged. A flicker of yellow told her that Naruto had picked himself back up and was following her in. Kabuto was smiling so wide, his eyes were hidden and he lunged to meet her, fingers curled around a black kunai. Sakura deliberately let Kabuto in close. The sharp edge of pain in her side told her his kunai had caught her and she used his closeness to drive her fist into his throat. He jerked at the last moment and the force of her blow caught him in the clavicle. The sound of bone cracking mingled with a sudden roaring explosion from the field to her left and she was forced backwards by the pressure of the explosion.

Kabuto took the time to jump onto a branch, his face twisted with pain as he held a hand below his throat, face pale. His fingers were already a dark green with chakra as he worked to stabilize the extremely painful break.

"Such a pity, little Sakura-chan, I didn't have time to poison it."

Slapping a hand over her own wound, she immediately pushed chakra into the cut to check it for poison, showing her teeth as Naruto landed at her side. Claws were jagged points over the edges of his fingers but he wasn't showing tails. To her relief, there was no sign of poison in the cut and she made sure the bleeding would stop until she had the time to heal it.

"I have enjoyed out little sparring match but now it is time for me to go."

He disappeared in a puff of smoke before either could move and Sakura snarled in frustration before turning her attention to the battle in the glade. Naruto was already moving forward, chakra twisting around him in bands of red. Before Sakura could catch him and force him to calm down, Sasuke called the name of a jutsu she hadn't heard before.

She made it half a dozen steps, almost drawing even with Naruto when the air screamed. Dropping into a defensive crouch, she stared in disbelief at the giant Chidori that slammed into the ground, booming with thunder and leaving her momentarily deaf. The air smelled like ozone and smoke and when the ground cleared there was a blackened crater several dozen yards wide. Naruto was stock still, body loose with surprise as he stared at a scowling Sasuke.

The crater was empty.

"That would have been far more impressive, baby brother, if you had managed to hit him."

The sound of Itachi's voice jarred her back to life and Naruto stalked forward, fingers curling into fists.

"You _missed_! He was right there and you _fucking missed_!"

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped, mouth set in what might have been a sulk if it had been anyone else.

"I'm not the one who had Oro-_fucking_-maru _right there_ and had a huge ass lightning bolt that isn't worth shit _because I can't aim_!"

"At least I'm not _covered_ in shit."

"Sakura dropped a fucking snail on me!"

Sakura tilted her head back and looked up at the clouds still boiling above them. Since Itachi was unconcerned it meant that Orochimaru had somehow disappeared into the forest and wasn't inclined to chase him. Gaze moving to Itachi, she swallowed when she caught him watching her, eyes lowering down her body. Heat flushed through her and she mentally shook herself. She didn't have time for this. Reaching out, she caught Naruto by the back of his shirt and pulled him out of the way of Sasuke's fist.

"Are you two finished yet?"

Naruto bared his teeth at Sasuke and she shook him hard enough to rattle his teeth.

"Yes."

"Are either of your injured somewhere _besides_ your brains?"

Sasuke shot her a look. "No."

"We need to get back to Tsunade and figure out if they've dissipated that dome. You two idiots can bitch later."

"Sakura is right," Itachi said smoothly, lips curled into a smile that was edged.

"We didn't ask your opinion!" Naruto snarled.

Rolling her eyes, and wondering again what she had done to deserve this, she allowed herself once more quick glance at Itachi. His eyes hadn't left her and she swallowed before spinning around and making the jump into the trees to bolt back to the walls of the village. The sounds of cursing told her she was being followed.

* * *

_**Please Comment!**_


	23. Loose Ends

It totally took us longer than we had anticipated writing this chapter… but for your viewing satisfaction is definitely longer than average! Thankfully, we shall hopefully move quicker in the future! But some things take time and working on this plot obviously did. Thanks so much for your patience and continued reviews!

Just Enough

* * *

_7 Years Ago_  
Uchiha Compound

His brother was sulking. Itachi usually let his ka-san handle such matters but she was otherwise occupied; letting Sasuke continue to degrade his stance and aim with something as simple as throwing a kunai was unacceptable. This meant that he would have to deal with the problem himself – before someone else noticed the weakness Sasuke was broadcasting with every reluctant, sloppy throw.

Resisting the urge to rub his nose, he headed over to the post.

"Sasuke, if you are going to make a fool of yourself with something as simple as target practice, do so where I do not have to watch."

Sasuke tightened his grip on the kunai and hunched for a moment before lowering his hand. "Aniki."

Itachi leveled a flat look at him. "I know that you know better than this."

Whether Itachi was talking about his form or the fact that he was advertising some emotional upset was irrelevant. Sasuke had the decency to look shamefaced for a moment – which prompted another inward sigh of exasperation. When would he learn to stand up for himself?

And then Sasuke whirled and executed a perfectly acceptable throw. The kunai quivered in the practice post, buried deeply into its center. Sasuke glanced up at him, their mothers' eyes searching for approval.

Itachi resisted the urge to sigh. "Five more."

The 'just like that' was an implication apparently clear enough for Sasuke to take it seriously, and he followed it up by performing satisfactorily. Then he turned to look at his older brother, something clearly weighing on his mind.

Itachi quirked an eyebrow.

And Sasuke burst forth like someone had blown up a dam. "Why are girls so stupid?"

Itachi actually twitched. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear from Sasuke, and the urge to do something like laugh or just walk away was exceedingly strong. But apparently, something about his expression had given Sasuke the idea that it was all right to precede, and so he did.

"They're following me around! And they keep making stupid faces! And they want to touch my _hair_!"

Itachi watched as Sasuke's chest heaved and his fists clenched at his sides. Really. This? His brother had let his form be compromised for this? Silently he reached down and picked up a kunai and stared at it. Casually, he tossed it towards the post and watched it sink hilt deep into the post. Then he turned his attention to his brother – who had completely failed to watch him demonstrate the proper form and was staring up at him with a slightly wounded look.

"Pay attention, Sasuke. You cannot allow such things to affect your form."

"But Aniki! You didn't listen!"

Itachi went very still in the way that Sasuke has learned to recognize as dangerous. He responded by going still himself, and watching his older brother with wide eyes. Itachi's eyes narrowed very slightly and he tilted his head the smallest bit to the side. "I always listen, Sasuke. If you are any sort of Uchiha, women will want you. You simply cannot allow them to dictate the terms of engagement. It is like any other maneuver. You have your objective, you obtain it or you fail. If your objective is to be left alone and you are failing, then you must change your strategy."

Sasuke's eyes were impossible wide. "But _how_?"

Itachi sighed. "How else would you change any failing strategy?"

"…by reviewing what I'm doing and seeing what doesn't work. Then analyzing the other's weaknesses and choosing to apply my strengths to them."

Itachi grunted acceptance. Good enough. "Then do that, foolish younger brother. And maintain your form."

X

_Present Day_  
Konoha Village

Their progress back through the village was mostly uninterrupted; somewhere along the way they lost Itachi. They passed the fast-moving Team Gai, who had clearly been defending the escape routes for the civilians for some time. The earth was littered with weapons and pot marks that spoke of Hakkeshō Kaiten. Bright, flickering green was the only sign she saw of Lee as they raced across damaged rooftops and she promised herself she'd check in on them later.

It was hard to pick out individual chakra signatures in this mess so she stopped trying. She had to believe that everyone would be OK. She couldn't get distracted; her mission was Tsunade. Logic told her that in an incursion like this, casualties were inevitable - she took a sidelong glance at Naruto, grit her teeth, and defied logic.

The chakra-dome was down and they skidded to a stop as they took in the scene. The earth was shattered and a large number of debris littered the ground. At some point Tsunade had summed Katsuyu and Jiraiya was leaning against a rock, holding his side. Shizune was bent over Jiraiya and when Naruto saw that, the muscles in his back and shoulders relaxed. Both sannin looked bloodied and beaten but there was no sign of the kage.

"I guess your lightning bolt did _some_ good." Sakura said mildly, ignoring the glare Sasuke gave her. "He must have been forced to let go of the jutsu for the dome in order to escape."

Which would have given the rest of those waiting and watching a chance to interfere; she would have to find out later how they dealt with the kage. The very idea that Orochimaru would use them against Tsunade was disgusting.

"Glad it did some good because asshole here can't hit a freaking target—" Naruto's words were cut off as Sasuke slapped him in the back of his head.

"I said _shut up_!"

Sakura cut a glance over to Sasuke to see how irritated he was but he was locked down tightly, that infamous Uchiha blank wall firmly in place. If you knew an Uchiha well enough, however, you could look for certain clues – the tightening at the corner of the eyes, the rigidity of his fingers that spoke of how he wanted to clench them at his sides, but refused... There was anger there, and shame, both of which were understandable. He'd never taken failure well, and then to miss right in front of Itachi...

But his head was high and Sasuke was already scanning the terrain. He was on task; she'd have to beat 'everyone makes mistakes but next time don't fucking miss' into him later.

"I'm going to check on Tsunade and then head to the hospital." She would have preferred to stay in the action but she had been running on the soldier pill for three hours now and would crash harder the more she pushed. It would be better to be in a safe place when the crash occurred, and at the hospital she could do the most amount of good in the least amount of time.

Naruto smiled at her, all fangs. "We'll go help finish cleaning out the trash."

Sasuke looked over in the direction of the Uchiha compound, his mouth set in a flat line. "We'll work in that direction."

Naruto opened his mouth, closed it and then shrugged. "Sure."

Sakura nodded. Sasuke would want to see the compound with his own eyes, telling him that she'd passed through it and it was nothing but deserted buildings would mean nothing to him. "I'll make sure Shizune gets Jiraiya to a hospital bed if he needs it."

Naruto looked relieved and cast on more glance at his shishou. "Tell him he needs to learn to dodge."

They disappeared with two puffs of smoke. Dropping down from the roof, Sakura carefully picked her way through the wreckage to Tsunade, who was speaking quietly and quickly to a masked ANBU Captain. Instead of interrupting, she walked over to Shizune and Jiraiya, giving Tsunade time to finish issuing orders. Katsuyu wiggled a hello before she suddenly disappeared with a pop.

Shizune looked up with a smile and sat back on her heels. "Sakura-chan, I see you made it back in time for the battle."

Sakura nodded. "We just caught the tail end of the action."

Jiraiya cracked an eye open. Sakura calmly moved out of the way of his wiggling hand and he sighed, deep and heavy. "Would you not grant a dying man a chance to feel your beauty?"

Shizune snorted. "You're not dying. Not yet, anyway but if that hand moves any closer…"

"Sakura."

"Hokage-sama," Sakura said as she twisted around, swiftly covering the ground between them. Shizune could handle Jiraiya and she wasn't in the mood to deal with him. She had checked on him like she had promised Naruto.

Tsunade was covered in a series of cuts and bruises but a quick look told her that her injuries were less than Jiraiya's; Shizune had taken care of the internal damage and as best Sakura could tell without using chakra, he would be fine in a few days. The absence of the _Nfūin: Kai_ on Tsunade's forehead told Sakura why her sensei was in such good shape.

"So you and the Uchiha made it back."

"We ran into a scout party about two hours out."

Tsunade nodded, reading between the lines. "I assume they will not be an issue?"

"No."

"Good. How badly are you wounded?"

"A few minor cuts – Kabuto and Orochimaru are no longer located in the village perimeters."

"I'll take your report later; right now I don't have the time. Shizune will be acting as the coordinator for the search and rescue teams inside the rubble of the buildings and overseeing the genin teams looking for wounded. Unfortunately, that leaves you to deal with the hospital alone for the time being as there are certain issues that need my immediate attention. It will be sometime before I can return to assist, so you will be handling major surgeries only. Leave the rest to the nurses and chunin staff."

Sakura nodded. "Yes, Shishou.

"How are your chakra levels?"

"I took a solider pill several hours ago. I have another four or five before I will need to find a flat surface."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed for a moment but then she nodded. The puffing of more smoke meant more ANBU, so Sakura simply bowed and left. She had her orders.

X

Under the cover of darkness, a shadow detached itself from the cave wall. Itachi was silent as always, but Shikamaru knew the shadows. For once, he was not startled when the ANBU Captain decided to make an appearance.

"Don't stand in front of the light," he said without looking up from the scrolls he'd taken with him. He finished marking off one scroll and then reached for another. Gesturing with the tip of the pen towards where the shadows were thick around bars, he added, "Took you long enough."

Itachi did not make excuses. Shikamaru's grumbling was a matter of course, and if the other could not understand that there were other priorities, then explaining it was not worth his time. Instead, he asked, "Who was it?"

"You were right." Shikamaru sighed. "However, it appears they were more independent than we had anticipated."

"That is considerably less useful."

"Yes." He tapped his finger against the scroll in front of him. "It appears that someone went to great lengths to discourage the usual background checks. So far, we have no serious connections."

Itachi frowned. While it was possible for Kabuto or Orochimaru to have hidden that information, it was also possible that Danzo had done it himself. There were a variety of possible uses for the spies on either side… it all depended on who the pair was spying _for_. Orochimaru was always motivated by personal gain and his attempt for immortality… but Danzo played on a more open and yet narrow field. His goals were strictly for personal power and while he may not have brought them in he would not have been against standing silently aside as they attempted to undermine the Hokage's authority.

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Shikamaru glanced up and searched his face. He grunted. "So you'll want the paper evidence along with their testimony. To be presented tomorrow?"

Itachi gave Shikamaru his full attention. He had not thought that he underestimated the young Nara, but he also had not anticipated that the other genius would be able to either read his face or anticipate his next move so accurately.

Nara Shikamaru met his gaze without flinching, no small feat. "Hn," he said and let his eyes bleed red.

Itachi was more than halfway certain that he shuddered strictly for effect. "Creepy," Shikamaru uttered, dropping his gaze back to the scroll.

The shadows parted as Itachi strolled towards the cage in the back of the cave, and closed behind him. Moments later, the screams started.

Shikamaru sighed and moved on to the next scroll.

X

Sakura sat straight up and stared blankly at the pale green wall in front of her, fingers curled tightly along the handle of the kunai in her right hand. The loud, abrasive banging that jarred her awake continued in a rhythm that was making her temples pound but was painfully familiar.

"Oi! Sakura-chan! I know you're in there and I have _food_!"

Shutting her eyes against the headache that was crawling down her neck, she hissed out a breath and pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "Open the damn door yourself!"

There was a pause. "Um, Sakura-chan…"

"_What_?"

"…could you undo the traps? My hands are full and Sasuke isn't here yet and won't bother when he gets here… and I'm pretty sure that some of these are genjutsu…"

…what? Opening her eyes, she squinted at the door and swore. Setting the kunai down, she pressed the heel of her palm against her head and took stock of her chakra levels. They were low, but from the angle of the sun in the window, she guessed she had gotten at least six hours of sleep. More than enough to deal with this headache before she was forced to figure out what the bastard had done to the door – because there was only one person who would have set out traps.

"Sakura?"

"Just sit there and be quiet, Naruto."

"Okay… but the food's getting cold."

Rolling her eyes hurt, so instead of commenting she pulled up just enough chakra to ease her headache before squinting at the traps that Itachi had lain down. Knowing him, they were some twisted layering of ninjutsu and genjutsu. Blowing out a breath she cross referenced the patterns he had used while they were camping and set about finding the least obvious starting point. By the time she had figured out exactly what he had done – avoiding two nasty surprises– she was hungry.

And _annoyed_. He'd made his point that she should have put up better traps, but this was the hospital and she was _safer here_ than in her apartment! Plus, he'd have to have known that she'd wake up exhausted, hurting, and hungry. It was just plain rude to put her in a sort of – reverse prison!

Sakura stumbled – gracefully – off her spare cot. Because a shinobi is always graceful, even when she has been running for hours on soldier pills. She recognized the hints of hysteria in her thoughts and realized that… she really needed to eat.

She was still wearing her bloody uniform and she wrinkled her nose at the smell.

Rubbing her face with both hands in an attempt to clear her vision, she called out, "It's open. Come in," and set to work on finding her boots. She was digging around for a spare pair of socks and some bandages when Naruto walked in. Unfortunately, her usual back-up uniform was stored in her locker downstairs.

"I realize we were just attacked, Sakura-chan, but no one would've been able to tell if you died!"

She paused, looked up and blinked at the sight he made. He was balancing three trays on his arms, tongue sticking slightly out of his mouth. His uniform was dirty, ripped and he smelled faintly like a campfire but he had washed off the worse of the smell. The bandages showing under the ripped fabric told her that he had slowed down enough at least not to bleed to death. Over his shoulder looked like an emergency medical pack, but where he had found one was questionable… the faint, pungent smell of fish caught her attention.

Her stomach rumbled loudly and she fought down a blush.

"Fish?"

Naruto grinned at her. "Teme said 'real food' was required this morning and not some stupid substitution. All the good places were closed anyway."

Finally finding pants that might have been Sasuke's, she pulled them on and bent down to roll up the legs. "So where…"

"They've got a few places set up outside to feed the civilians."

Sakura shoved her hair out of her face and grimaced. She had scrubbed her hands and face before going into surgery, but her hair was sticky with smoke and sweat. Naruto took her silence as a chance to set everything out and hand her a pair of chopsticks. Besides the grilled fish, there were small bowls of hot miso, rice, salty pickles, small egg omelets and cups of green tea. Too hungry to talk, she tucked into the meal with gusto.

It wasn't until Naruto was slurping up his soup that she felt human enough to talk.

"Please tell me there are pain killers in that pack."

Naruto nodded around a mouthful of rice, swallowing loudly. He twisted around to look as Sasuke walked in and waved. "Morning, teme!"

Sasuke grunted and tossed the pack in his hand at Sakura's feet. He slid into a chair and closed his eyes, ignoring the third tray of food. Sakura arched a brow at Naruto who shrugged and took another bite of rice. Rolling her eyes, she kicked Sasuke in the ankle.

He cracked an eye open.

"Food. Eat it. I'll even share my pain blockers."

"Yeah, 'cause the old hag wants us in her office in twenty minutes."

Sakura frowned around her mouthful of fish. Swallowing, she pointed her chopsticks at Naruto. "I thought you would have already debriefed her."

"Nope. Been too busy chasing down the invading bastards and wanting for my teammates to unlock their front doors!"

Sasuke grunted in what might have been an agreement and finally broke open his chopsticks and started eating. Sakura eyed her boys and munched on her last pickle. There was clearly something going on here… it might have just been exhaustion after a long night – or lingering irritation over Orochimaru – but if it turned out to be something more and they weren't talking about it, she was going to make them _hurt_ later.

The meal ended with Naruto slurping down the last of his miso. "Next time, we get ramen."

Sasuke snorted. "Like hell."

Sakura reached forward and pulled open the medical pack Naruto had brought in and was pleased to find more than just field-standard gear. Pulling out three doses, she paused when Sasuke opened his pack. His delay had apparently been a trip to her locker in the hospital and the spare pack of clothing she kept on hand for everyone.

"I knew there was a reason I loved you."

Naruto grinned. "Does Itachi know about that?"

The bright orange pants slapped him in the face.

"Shut up, Dobe."

"Hey, I'm just saying, this tower could have self imploded and we'd have had to unwind the traps before we could have moved the rubble to find her, eh, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura considered throwing something far more painful than pants. Sometimes his flashes of brilliance were annoying – especially since she knew he was going to bring it up later, just to embarrass her. "Turn around so I can change."

"I don't know if I am comfortable being naked in a room with you." Naruto said in a solemn tone as he turned around. Sasuke cut a look in her direction and she mouthed 'later.' Something flickered behind his eyes but he nodded.

"This shirt smells like Sakura."

Rolling her eyes, she pulled her top off. "Naruto, shut up. It smells like soap."

"Like Sakura-soap!"

"If you don't like it, then wear your other shirt." Sasuke growled. "Everyone decent?"

"I'm good."

"Yup."

Sakura glanced at the clock on her wall and grimaced. "Let's go."

They made their way out of the hospital and over to the tower. It felt good just to be walking between her boys – she needed their support as soon as they stepped outside and she saw what had been done to their town. Broken buildings, the smell of smoke... Sakura let out a breath that was more an angry hiss than anything else, and Naruto caught it. He was still terrible at keeping his emotions hidden when it came to something that really mattered, and Konoha was his. His posture was tense, his eyes were hard... and Sasuke was seething on the other side of her as well.

Tired as they were, ragged as they were, at the moment the three of them were completely united in fury. This would not go unanswered.

"How many casualties?" Sakura asked.

"We don't know yet," Sasuke said, giving her a warning glance. _Don't aggravate the dobe_.

"Too many," Naruto said. "Even one is too many."

Sakura didn't have anything to say to that. She couldn't disagree – even one _was_ too many. But being a medic had taught her that you cannot save everyone... but that didn't mean she stopped trying. She'd learned to accept loss. Naruto refused to.

"We'll get them," Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded.

And that was all. Their exhaustion had faded away, replaced with a sense of righteous purpose, though traces of their weariness still remained.

Sakura looked at the time and grimaced. Sliding her arm through Naruto's she arched a brow. "We better book it."

He shook himself and grinned at her, blue eyes squinting in the early sunshine. "Anything you want, Sakura-chan!"

She had just enough time to curse before Naruto finished the seals for the flash step, pulling her along with him. When her feet touched the floor again, she fisted her hand and drove it into his stomach. He grunted, bent over and grimacing just enough to be almost believable before cracking a sparkling eye open.

"Awe, Sakura! That's no way to show your love and appreciation!"

Flexing her fingers, she eyed him for a moment before glancing around. The tower was basically intact, which was good. There weren't any obvious signs of the battle here which meant the safeguards had held. Still, she imagined ANBU were crawling all over the place, looking for anything hidden.

"Are you two coming?" Sasuke demanded as he moved towards the stairs, hands jammed in his pockets. His entire frame radiated disapproval and Naruto arched a brow in her direction. Sakura rolled her eyes and motioned Naruto forward.

It was good to see the masked faces of ANBU guarding key points in the tower. Sakura still wasn't sure why the three of them were being called in to debrief. Tsunade knew what she'd done, the boys' work was evident in the destruction they left behind them, and surely the Hokage had other priorities...

...unless it had to do with something other than the attack.

Rounding a corner, she was forced to stop because Sasuke was blocking her way, standing perfectly still, just inside the hallway entrance. Oddly, his left hand was clenched around a handful of Naruto's t-shirt so tightly that she could hear the threads popping. But Naruto wasn't moving. There was a placid, dangerous sort of stillness about him that spoke of either great shock or anger…

Sakura picked up her pace and walked to Naruto's left just in time to see a masked ANBU pull a stoned faced Danzo out of Tsunade's office – _in chains_. She grabbed Naruto on reflex and just managed to keep from tripping over her own feet in surprise. The hard line of his forearm was bunched with aggression as they led the lead (ex-leader?) of ROOT by them.

For a moment, Sakura thought she was going to have bodily restrain her friend.

Then Naruto laughed. It was a wild, reckless sort of laugh, the kind he gave right before he was going to do something brilliantly stupid. Then he tore free from their hold and _bounced_ into Tsunade's office.

"Ba-chan! You were being sneaky again!"

"Show some respect, brat!" Tsunade barked at him without her usual bite. Following Naruto into the room, it was clear to Sakura that her shishou was smug as only an elite predator could be. "That's no way to talk to your Hokage."

Naruto ignored this with even more enthusiasm than usual. As he began to regale Tsunade with questions – "What happened? How'd you finally roust that old coot? Ne, ne, tell me!" – and Tsunade continued to put him off, Sakura and Sasuke took stock of who else was in the room.

Jiraiya, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, a smirk on his lips. Shikamaru, gazing out the window as if he was bored already… and Itachi, standing there like a black hole, drawing both her and Sasuke's attention completely. He ignored his brother and locked his gaze with her, and Sakura's breath caught in her throat. The skin on the back of her neck tingled and she started breathing in short, shallow breaths.

There was something indefinable there. Something that made her heart pound. Then his attention shifted to encompass the whole room and not just her. Swallowing just a bit, she followed suit and looked back at her teammates. Sasuke was done with his own perusal and his exasperated expression was back on Naruto; Sakura realized with a jolt that she was the only who had picked up on Itachi's mood. Her stomach lurched with a mixture of nerves and anticipation – Itachi always felt like a predator but this stillness was something more.

But for all intents and purposes his trap had just snapped closed on Danzo so what…

"Oi! Come on, Baa-chan! You didn't bring me down here just to gloat!"

… and clearly it was time to step in and be the adult again. Because Tsunade was obviously enjoying holding this over Naruto's head and Naruto was all but dancing in front of her desk in irritation. But before she could work out a way to do that without clouting Naruto in the head with her fist, Sasuke managed to beat her to it.

"_Shut up_, dobe."

Naruto turned to Sasuke, "Don't call me that, bastard! Baa-chaaaan! Tell me!"

Sakura took a deep breath to cut short the impulse to hit Naruto over the head. Itachi, like this, his… predilection for violence… she very carefully did not look at him as she stepped forward. "Shishou, we saw Danzo get led from the room in chains. What happened?"

"There, you see, brat? At least one of you three kids has the ability to ask politely," Tsunade said.

Sasuke grunted.

"And is capable of actual speech. I don't speak monosyllabic noises, young man."

Naruto was at the end of his rope. "Baa-chan!"

And then Jiraiya moved from the wall, stretching like a cat. "Well, amusing as all this is, I don't see any reason to sit through it a second time. Besides, I have a cute nurse to get back to."

Distracted, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya. "If I hear about you harassing one of my nurses –"

And Jiraiya finished the seal for teleportation and poofed out of the room.

Tsunade grumbled incoherently into the papers she shuffled. Shikamaru, meanwhile, stood and looked at Tsunade. "I should be getting back to my team."

This arrested Sakura's attention, and she turned to him, concerned. "Is everyone all right?"

He nodded. "Chouji was wounded, but not badly. Ino's with him."

Sakura exhaled through her teeth, "Tell Ino I'll be by to check on him later."

Shikamaru acknowledged this with another nod and started towards the door.

"WILL SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT IS GOING ON?"

Tsunade lifted one hand to her ear and shook it, trying to clear it. Sasuke muttered 'idiot' under his breath, and chancing a glance at Itachi, Sakura saw that he hadn't even flicked an eyebrow, though something in his expression still seemed to indicate exasperation. To her surprise, instead of taking the time to gloat about her success she leaned back in her chair and nodded at Itachi.

Itachi spoke in his driest tone. "Danzo Shimura has been officially charged with treason."

And Naruto looked like he had been punched and kissed at the same time. Tsunade stapled her fingers and smiled.

"WHAT?" Naruto exploded once he regained his senses. The glitter behind his eyes was predatory and Tsunade leaned back, scowling.

"I said to watch your tone, brat!"

Sakura kept her gaze on Tsunade.

"Under what charges, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke broke into the staring match.

"Failure to report infiltration of the enemy, giving aid to spies and failure to prevent an assassination attempt." Itachi said mildly.

Wait… _what_? Sakura frowned a little, watching Itachi's expression carefully. Danzo wasn't that kind of a fool. Failure to report, yes. She could see that. If he felt he could gain something by staying silent, he _would_ but to let _that_ be tracked back to him… what assassination attempt? She turned the facts over in her mind carefully. The information had come to light in an attack from Sound and Cloud… who targeted the Uchiha and Hyuuga…

"Fool thought the attacks at the hospital wouldn't be traced to him, even with the family association." Tsunade said in a hard voice.

Sakura's stomach turned to ice. "What – what are you talking about, Shishou?"

Tsunade's eyes were flecks of amber as they flicked to her, "Ichimaru Mai and Ichimaru Michi were working together with Sound, under Danzo's supervision. That time you stopped Ichimaru Mai from 'accidentally' poisoning that Hyuuga was the tip off." She nodded in Itachi's direction.

"Uchiha and Nara put it together from there." Tsunade's smile was lazy as a cat's, and fully satisfied. "It should be enough to get him out of my hair for a good long time."

The pieces fell into place. They'd already discovered – the hard way – that Cloud and Sound were working in tandem against Konoha. Sound, in the form of Orochimaru, wanted the Uchiha bloodline. Cloud had always been interested in the Hyuuga bloodline. With someone in the hospital, they would have had access to medical records, blood samples, even actual bodies.

Her blood ran cold. That was what she had stopped that night. Mai had been attempting to kill that Hyuuga – so that she could give one of the village's most deadly bloodline limits to another village. It was a very, very good thing for Mai that she wasn't in the room just then.

And her brother, working for Danzo – he would have had access to ANBU missions and routes. No _wonder_ there had been such an increase ambushes! Michi had been feeding their missions to Sound, and Orochimaru had taken advantage of that fact, distracting their teams and chiseling down their defenses as he planned his assault on the village itself.

And Danzo had known about them both, had been _playing them_ and using their disloyalty in order to worm his way higher up into the council, in order to undermine Tsunade. He would have sacrificed the whole village in order to gain power over it. She watched in concern as Naruto came to some similar conclusion and shut his eyes, breathing through a tight grin to control himself.

Itachi had stopped him. He'd brought the spies to light, eliminated the threat Danzo posed to Tsunade and the one he'd been making against the Uchiha monopoly of policing the village. In allowing his part in this to come to light – and he certainly would, because Shikamaru would never want credit for this, it would just mean more work – he had earned even more influence and prestige for himself, not only in his clan, but in the village.

Sakura couldn't stop her gaze from flickering to Itachi. There was something warm about the readiness of his stance – he wasn't… done. No matter that he'd just helped to remove one of the major threats to Tsunade's leadership, there was something about the satisfaction she read in the depth of his gaze that had nothing to do with the past and everything to do with _expectation_.

What is he planning?

When he flicked his gaze to her, heat flared in her stomach and began to slowly spread outward. She gulped. _Oh_.

'_The day is coming, Sakura._' That day on the practice field his words had wrapped around her with all the subtlety of a silk knot, and somewhere in the back of her head she'd known… he was right. That bastard. He had her exactly where he wanted her and the worst part was that she was going to enjoy every moment of it.

And he knew it too. Itachi took a step forward and Sakura tensed. He wouldn't – right here – would he?

A shade of what would be amusement on anyone else flickered in his eyes, and then he turned his attention to Tsunade. "If that's all, I have some clan business to attend to."

Sasuke's shoulders bunched and Sakura could feel Naruto turn to look at him curiously.

Tsunade's eyes gleamed in that aggravating way of hers which suggested she knew more than you wanted her to and you were on thin ice. "By all means, Uchiha. Go take care of your business."

As Itachi moved towards the door, Sasuke stepped in his way. "What business?"

Before she could do anything to stop it, Naruto had stepped behind Sasuke, his presence a silent support and added weight to Sasuke's question. And for the first time… she didn't move to stand beside him. She couldn't even say why – some instinct warned her that siding with her team over Itachi in whatever this was would be very dangerous… and not what she wanted.

Itachi's voice was very even, and even Naruto wouldn't miss the undercurrents of satisfaction and amusement. "You'll find out, little brother."

And then, instead of going around them or shoving past them, Itachi simply vanished. She didn't even see him perform the seals.

Sakura blinked. _Well. Shit_.

X

The village was still smoky and the civilian sections that were hit the hardest would take months to clean out effectively, but it really was amazing how much could be done in one day. Sakura had crashed at Naruto's the previous night. Her place had been hit hard by smoke and her water had been non-existent. For whatever reason, Naruto not only had running water but he had non-perishables in the form of Ramen that required minimum effort.

"How do you find these places?"

Instead of sparing they had eaten breakfast and done a quick run through the civilian section of the village, giving a helping hand where they could. Their route had taken them back into Hokage Tower were Naruto was ordered to light duty at best and Sakura was given orders to rest. A quick check on Ino and Chouji and they were grabbing a snack while they debated where they might actually find supplies or lunch. They hadn't seen Sasuke since he had been put on emergency duty only and told to report to his clan.

Naruto swallowed and grinned. "My special talent."

Sakura cut her eyes over, working not to smile. "Special something."

Naruto stuck his tongue out. "You're just jealous."

Sakura was smiling now and she reached over to steal one of his dango when her name caught her attention.

"Haruno! _There_ you are."

Sakura blinked and turned to Inuzuka Hana bearing down on her with all the purpose of one of her dogs. "Hana-san. Hello."

She had not been expecting to see her any time soon – and what was with that gleam in the other shinobi's eye?

"You are one hard kunoichi to track down, do you know that?" And Hana clapped Sakura on the shoulder with enough force to make her stumble.

Naruto stepped up close beside her. Sakura paused a moment before responding, glancing at Naruto's uneasy expression, keeping her own mannerisms pleasant.

"I wasn't aware you were looking for me; I hope you didn't look in too many places? I'm off duty but if you need some medical assistance…"

Hana waved her hand. "Oh, I just looked here and there, nothing serious. Was hoping for a chance to catch up, reminisce on a few things, really."

Sakura popped Naruto's last dango in her mouth and chewed. Reminisce about what? Kiba and she knew each other certainly – all of the rookie nine were still somewhat close. But Hana had always maintained very little contact with her brother's year-mates outside a few missions and those rarely allowed for time to talk. What was Hana playing at?

"Hey, where is the brat today? He's usually tied to your waists."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Off on clan business, not that it matters to _you_."

Hana paused and sniffed, eyeing the dango stand where fresh bowls were being laid out with something like longing before she shook herself. "It's a pity that I have to run after I just found you. I was hoping for more time to talk."

Naruto crossed his arms. "I'm sure."

Hana smiled at him, showing her slightly pointed canines – and then ruffled his hair. Naruto backed away hastily, glaring at her and he ran his fingers through his locks defensively.

"Such a cutie… anyway, as I was saying. I've got to run but let me be the first to congratulate you!"

Sakura blinked at her. "What?"

Hana smiled and waved. "I'll get details later! You two have a lovely day!"

Naruto smoothed his hair down and then scowled. "I like Kiba but his sister is clearly off her leash."

Sakura frowned a little. "Do you have any idea what she is talking about?"

"Not a clue," Naruto said cheerfully. "Hey, maybe you finally cleaned up on one of those bets about baa-chan and her healthy love of sake or something."

Sakura shook her head. "Never mind. I guess we better get moving."

Naruto threw his arm around her shoulder and grinned. "Hey whatever it is, we're in this together!"

Rolling her eyes, Sakura pushed him away and then smirked. "Race you."

"Hey! That's cheating!"

* * *

_**Please Comment!**_


	24. Endgame

And we've finally reached the chapter-before-the-last. So begins the end. Please note that this chapter is rated a _strong_ PG13. We hope you enjoy it. =)

Just Enough

* * *

_2 Years Ago  
_Konoha Village

The flush of victory was fading into apprehension now that they were faced with the consequences of their choice, but it wasn't enough to suppress triumph from humming in Sakura's blood. They had done it. They'd escaped out from of the Uchiha Clan's watchful eye and found a way to put Team Seven back together. Their performance at the chunin exam had been a complete success, all three of them graduating to chunin and taking all the high marks in team exercises.

The weight of the silence was heavy on Sakura's shoulders and it made faking confidence under Tsunade's gaze even more difficult. Naruto and Sasuke were shields at her sides, but she could still feel the presence of Uchiha Fugaku and the accompanying council members to the side of the room, even if she wasn't looking at them, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck prick. Naruto and Sasuke were displaying their own subtle signs of confidence and belligerence.

Finally, Tsunade dropped her gaze back to the written report about their performance and shuffled the papers ostentatiously. Lacing her fingers together, she eyed them for a long moment, deliberately ignoring the small crowd of people standing to her left.

"Report."

Sakura took a deep breath and shifted to the balls of her feet, placing herself just minutely in front of her teammates. "As ordered, Hokage-sama, we reported to Kirigakure for the Chunin exams." Sakura said evenly. "According to the criteria pre-determined by the council of daimyo and village shinobi, all members of Team Seven have been advanced to the rank of chunin."

They had done it with style, too. But that wasn't something she could say here with representation of the Uchiha Clan watching their proceedings. It was bad enough that Fugaku was here, but he had brought Uchiha Uruchi and one other council representative that Sakura didn't recognize on sight. Uruchi had no love for Naruto and had probably been one of the driving forces behind the clan's decision to block Sasuke from testing with them. Sakura resisted the urge to curl her hand into a fist.

Tsunade leaned back, fingers tapping for a moment on surface of her desk. "There has been some concern about the… abruptness of your leaving the village."

Naruto fielded this one, running one hand through his hair and managing to look sheepish as long as you didn't pay attention to glitter behind his eyes. "Oh man, that? Kakashi-sensei was supposed to go with us and he's _always_ late. We figured if we left early he'd have to pull his nose out of the newest _Icha Icha_ to come find us."

Sakura bit on the edge of her tongue, careful to keep anything but a mild curiosity from her face. There was no reason for them to be aware of the power play that had almost happened by the Uchiha Clan and Council. Their explanation of Kakashi's legendary lateness along with Naruto's over-eager reputation was serving them well, for once.

The unknown Uchiha made a faint noise in the back of his throat. Tsunade ignored him.

"I have received an official petition from you to maintain your team," she said mildly.

Almost in unison, Sakura's head dropped with a soft 'Hai,' Naruto's eyes began to take on an almost manic gleam, and Sasuke lifted his chin in a visible expression of interest. Tsunade's expression remained thoughtful as she glanced back at the small stack of papers on her desk.

Sakura continued to look straight ahead, despite the way the silence from the Uchiha corner of the room had shifted to become predatory. She was doing all she could to remain calm and not give away the fact that if that _father_ of Sasuke's managed to block them from becoming a team, he was going to leave here with a broken nose.

She knew that Sasuke's continued silence could be taken as a sign that he did not fully agree to their request – and also knew that he was doing it on purpose. He wanted to attempt to maintain these ties with his father, with his clan. But it gave the clan an opening, and she knew that they were going to push with all they had.

The heavy wrinkles on Uruchi's face deepened as the silence continued. "We have plans to send Sasuke for ANBU training now that he has shown the appropriate skills."

Tsunade arched a brow as she glanced up. "Oh?"

Fugaku stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, this… coddling, has gone on long enough. As genin, this team was separated for reasons we have already discussed – reasons your predecessor agreed with. That they managed to re-form long enough to pass the exams is merely coincidental. As a team, their purpose is served and it is time for them to go their own ways."

Naruto was almost vibrating with anger and Sakura mentally willed him to hold his tongue. This was not the place. Not yet. They had expected this, prepared for it. Everything that could be done was done; they just had to let it play out.

Tsunade continued to study the Uchiha-elders. "I am aware of the conditions behind their original separation." There was something in her tone that made Fugaku go still. "And I admit, it is unusual for genin teams to re-form after they have been disbanded… unusual but not unheard of."

She paused, studying the tense faces of the clan before turning her gaze back to Team Seven. "However… while their individual marks in the exams were above average – it was their work as a team that has stood out."

Uruchi frowned. "Surely their results were not so extraordinary that they cannot be recreated within another unit, Hokage-sama."

"I disagree." Tsunade said, finality sharpening her tone. "While I understand the Uchiha Clan concerns, there are no sufficient reasons to disband Team Seven. They are, of course, completely within their rights to submit their applications to ANBU on a team and individual basis. But as it stands, I grant their petition to remain together until a further date."

Fugaku stepped forward, eyes locking Sasuke's profile. "And if a member of the team disagrees with this?"

Tsunade laced her fingers together. "The petition was signed by all members of the team… However; Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto? Petition aside, do any of you wish to be assigned to another team? Speak freely."

Naruto shook his head. "I'm Team Seven."

Sakura nodded, hands finally curling into fists. "Me too."

Fugaku hadn't taken his eyes off Sasuke and there was a tick in the side of his jaw. Sasuke turned his eyes to Tsunade and for a long moment, he and Tsunade simply watched each other before he too nodded. "I wish to stay with Naruto and Sakura."

Tsunade smiled. "Then until otherwise stated, I grant your petition."

Fugaku made to protest, the other two close behind him, but Tsunade held up her hand. "My decision is final."

"The council…"

"Has no say in this matter." Tsunade said mildly. "Now, if you will excuse us? These chunin have a verbal report to give and I am very interested to hear what they have learned."

Sakura bit the side of her tongue to keep her expression straight as Fugaku stared at them, something violent flickering behind his eyes before he left. Tsunade waited until the door shut before arching a brow in their direction.

"You're going to give me constant headaches. I can already tell. Sakura, bring that jar of sake over here and you three can tell me all the interesting bits that aren't in this report. That should give your clan enough time to start cooling off, Uchiha."

"Baa-chan! It's not even noon! You can't possibly be drinking!"

"Show some respect! Around you, I find _every_ hour is a good hour to drink!"

X

___Present Day  
_Konoha, Civilian District_  
_

'Days off' a few days after an incursion weren't really 'days off' at all – they were excuses to go and help the civilian quarter without pay. Sakura was currently clearing out rubble. It was hot, sweaty work, but it gave her that unique feeling of 'putting something back together again' that she usually only got in a successful operation. Plus, she was very good at it.

It was just the sort of mindless activity to take her mind off the fact that… she hadn't seen Itachi since he'd declared that he had clan business and vanished from the Hokage's office. Sakura was trying not to let it worry her. He was _Itachi_, and what did the clan care if he wanted to sleep around a bit –

But why hadn't he _come_ to her? Had he 'learned' enough? But even so – he'd asked her for everything. This wasn't _everything_. He had to know now, didn't he, that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her. So why had he left her alone?

If he was expecting _her_ to come and seek him out, he had another think coming. She wasn't going to beg for him, no matter how much she missed his touch. Blowing her hair out of her eyes, she sighed and rolled her shoulders. She realized that she was being a little ridiculous – if this was a game to him, it wasn't finished. But she just couldn't seem to help herself the longer she found herself without word from him. He'd never gone this long before…

But then, she hadn't seen Sasuke yet either.

Frowning, she bent back to her work, hefting the heaviest of the debris from what had been the entrance. And it was that complete lack of communication from Sasuke that was driving the edges of her fear. Because he never cut her and Naruto out, not anymore – it was always just a matter of time before they connected and found out what was going on.

But something had clearly happened… something that had Sasuke avoiding her. But how did that tie into what Hana-san had meant? Too many questions with no good way to find out the answers left her irritable and cranky, and she hefted another large rock into the street with a satisfying thump.

And that was when the hackles on the back of her neck pricked. Turning her head casually so she could see out of the corner of her eye – there he was. Itachi. Standing on top of some rumble, one foot propped up slightly higher than the other, perfectly clean, his hair _blowing_ slightly in the wind, and a familiar heat in his gaze.

She glared at him.

A faint shadow of what looked like amusement flickered across his face, but his gaze did not waver. It started awareness burning low in her stomach that began to warm her as it fought to spread down to her toes and up to her fingertips. She knew he _saw her_. All of her. And he liked what he saw. He held out one hand to her in wordless invitation.

Sakura swallowed, heart pounding in her ears. And turned her back on him, giving her attention to the debris. _Not so easy, Uchiha-san_, she thought loudly in his direction. Even if she hadn't been annoyed at him, the fact that he looked so perfect and she didn't would have irritated her. Sometimes it was just really _unfair_…

The soft sound of his laughter was barely discernible over the crunch of another boulder and she tilted her head just enough to watch him prowl closer, the heat behind his eyes warming with his amusement. He stopped when he was close enough that she could feel the heat of him pressing just against the line of her spine.

"Come, Sakura." He really shouldn't be allowed to have a voice like that on top of everything else. It just wasn't fair. "You will not find the answers you are looking for in that pile of rock."

She shivered. Speaking of unfair… she wasn't about to let him have uninhibited access to her back. Not that it made much of a difference, but Sakura turned to face him, eyes narrowed. She reached out and poked him once in the chest, directly above his heart. The fact that she connected made her feel – he trusted her that much. It was almost enough for her to completely lose her irritation. "How do you know?"

"Sa-ku-ra," he drawled her name slowly, the word as effective as a caress. "Come with me." And then he held out his hand again.

Sakura felt her mouth go dry. She looked from his eyes, to his hand, and then met his gaze again. And this time, she slid her calloused hand in his. The warm humor sharpened and the familiar rush of chakra for the teleportation jutsu pulled them away from the work-site. Her heart hammered in her throat for a moment at the way he easily completed the jutsu without hand signals – he'd done it before when they went to the monument, but it was still a surprise to see it.

Even more surprising was where he had chosen to take them.

They were standing in middle of a civilian neighborhood that had come out of the invasion unscathed – more importantly, they were standing in front of a small, one story home. The area was densely populated with trees, giving the impression of privacy among the scattered homes. She supposed that was how it had avoided the brunt of the attack. A quick glance at the monument gave her an approximate distance to the Tower and Hospital but what…

The heat of Itachi's gaze pulled her attention back to him and she absently noted the way he started shifting through a complex series of hand signals. Her brain automatically memorized the movements even as her heart jumped into her throat. Itachi _didn't do_ slow hand signals much less a series of them that were _this_ complicated. Her mind scrambled to process. This… this was _his_?

Before she could even start to formulate a question, the air shifted almost audibly as it twisted back into reality. Her throat ran dry but she waited until Itachi lowered his hands before turning her eyes back to the house just in time to watch the last of the genjutsu fade. He had used the lines of the home and the angles of the trees to re-weave reality in such a way that even once the jutsu was gone it took a long moment to catch exactly what had changed.

The defined edges of the house disappeared behind the careful lining of trees – giving an impression of space. The feeling of being tucked into a confined area was gone and once again, Sakura was reminded of just how potent Itachi's talent was. It wasn't just the scope of the jutsu that made this impressive – it was the way he had incorporated the smallest of details, down to the layers of rock that had shortened the front walkway by several feet.

She turned to glance up at him and question – but he preempted her with the way that he held out his hand. Again, it was an offer of trust – both for him, letting her so close and allowing her to 'tie down' a part of himself – and for her, when she slid her hand in his – an offer of acceptance. They walked into the house together.

The door shut. The house smelled clean, like lemon and pine, the hallway was uncluttered, utilitarian, and traditional. There were no lights on, but the high cut window on the door let in the daylight in a pattern on the floor. Sakura turned to him in order to ask him where they were and what was going on…

...and caught him finishing up the cloaking jutsu with his other hand moments before his mouth covered hers. The suddenness of the kiss was startling and she parted her lips greedily under his as his hands moved into her hair. Weeks of pent-up frustration washed through her as he flicked his tongue against hers, hand sliding roughly down her spine to pull her flush against him. Rising up on tip toe, she ran her hands along his shoulders to curl around the back of his neck, pushing her breasts almost flat against his chest. Itachi made a noise low in his throat while fisting his hand in her hair, pulling away from her mouth to scrape the edge of her jaw with his teeth before kissing a path back behind her ear.

Sakura made a muffled, needy noise and slid her hands up his neck to the edge of his scalp, pulling him closer. Itachi bit on the sensitive skin he found below her ear and she gasped, arching into him. She could feel his lips curling into a smile on her skin before he moved to soothe the sting with a quick flick of his tongue – only to bite again, teasingly lingering as one hand found its way under the back of her shirt, calluses scraping against smooth skin; the cool contact a temporary shock to her system. She shivered.

He released his bite and blew on the mark, spurring her into action. Sakura slid one leg up his side and wrapped it around his waist. She went to move her head and trace her own series of kisses down his neck, but his grip on her hair held her fast, and exactly where he wanted her as he continued to lavish that one sensitive spot on her neck with attention. Very deliberately, Sakura tilted her hips to align with his.

For the space of a heartbeat, Itachi froze. She smiled – and then raked her hands abruptly down his back. His breath hissed between his teeth as her leg lowered half-an inch, so that her fingers could slide tantalizingly along the muscle just inside the line of his pants before her leg flexed. The hand in her hair tightened, nails scraping lightly against the back of her neck and she shivered at the deliberate way his fingers moved along her back – a direct contrast to the rapid feel of his breath against her neck.

"Now?" she breathed the question in his ear, running her hands slowly up his back.

He didn't verbally respond, just suddenly releasing his grip on her hair to trace down her side and hoist her other leg around his waist. His lips returned to hers for a greedy kiss, and she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and tightening her grip around his waist. Running her tongue along his bottom lip, she sucked it between hers and bit down lightly as he moved them so that her back pressed up against the wall. He pulled away with something like a snarl and she arched her spine as his lips slid along her collarbone.

Tongue and teeth alternated in a dizzying pattern as one of his hands slid up her side and across the line of her chest until he reached the zipper on her shirt. The tip of his finger ran lightly over the skin of her chest before he slid it nearly to her navel, ghosting his fingers up her sternum to splay just below her collarbones, thumb brushing along the swell of her breast. His mouth moved towards her neck, teeth nipping lightly at the junction of her shoulder before he started a pattern of open-mouth kisses towards her jaw.

Panting, she dragged her hands along the side of his neck before she fisted her fingers in the mesh of his shirt and tugged, splitting the material in a ragged tear. She kept pulling, knuckles sliding along the heat of his skin until her fingers were brushing below his ribs leaving him mostly bare.

Itachi made a curious noise, somewhere between a gasp and a growl before he pulled back. Sakura could almost see the tremendous effort of will it took to leash it around his passion, but restrain himself he did, a tiger on the leash. She went very still, watching him carefully – his strength was beautiful, his will was breathtaking – and she wanted to snap it. That perfect complexion of his was flushed with effort, eyes glazed with lust, thin lips swollen from passion – and it was all for her. Even as this, the deliberate tracing of his fingers up and over her chest made her want to move, she held still under his silent command as his hands move to frame her face.

"You're mine, Sakura. All of you. All that you are. Everything. Always."

And for once, she didn't have it in her to protest. He gave her enough time to, slowly lowering his head – too slowly. She tilted her head forward and met his lips with hers, ripping off the rest of his shirt as she did so.

Palms splayed, she dragged the edges of her nails against his abdomen as she moved her hands along the newly exposed skin. Her lips curved under his at the way he trembled against her – then her eyes went wide as his hands delved under the edges of her parted shirt as he shifted his weight and moved against her in a way that made her writhe.

Once more arching against him, Sakura knew with sudden certainty that if they didn't move _right now_ the next time he slid against her like that would insure that their first time took place in the foyer of his home. And she wanted more than that from him. Sex was one thing, _intimacy_ was something else – and she wanted him, wanted Itachi, wanted him inside of her and completing her and she wanted to be able to stare into all the shaded places of his soul without flinching, and she wasn't going to settle for anything less. One hand managed to slide around him and catch the very ends of his hair. She pulled back and he ignored her – clamping her legs tighter around him as his mouth explored the contour of her breast.

She pulled harder and he bit down on the swell near the tip. "_Itachi_."

It was his name that made him glance up, and the heat in them excited her. She couldn't help but smile at him, even as she moved her head to attack his collarbone. "_Bedroom_."

He hissed when her teeth touched his skin and then he _moved_. Her back landed on a firm mattress and for a moment his face was suspended in excitement above her – and then his head lowered to continue his work exploring her chest and her hands slid down his back to the waist of his pants—

He lifted up his head to speak a word – and all the lights in the room went on. Sakura blinked in the light, surprised for a moment. And then his mouth was _under her jaw_, tracing patterns there, and he was sliding her pants off her hips and she realized –

_He wants to see everything_ –

– and then there was no more time left to think.

X

Naruto scanned the side-street that had one of those tea-stands that Sakura pretended she didn't hit up in between errands, except that she did. He didn't really expect to see a flash of pink hair but since he hadn't found her anywhere else – and it was located sorta near where he was going anyway… he at glanced at it. Lacing his fingers behind his head, he looked skyward for a moment, lips pursed in thought. Hana's little innocent comment told him something was up… and he couldn't find Sasuke. This meant that a certain clan was messing with his team – again. This time, both of them. Since he couldn't track down Sakura and _Sasuke_ wasn't in his usual sulking places…

Yup. Time to track down Teme. Besides, Sasuke would never forgive him if he beat the living hell out of his brother and didn't at least get to watch. There were only one or two places that you could always count on finding a member of Team 7 who was in a mood. Since the problem wasn't one of _them_ then it wasn't going to be the bridge. Which, now that he thought about it… if he was really, really lucky then Sakura had already tracked Sasuke down and was using her own special brand of discussion to pull Sasuke out of his funk. And if not well… a little workout wouldn't hurt either of them.

This training field wasn't their preferred field, it was too close to edges of the forest and Sakura always bitched about dragging their asses to the hospital from this distance. So they saved it for the big ones. The ones when they needed to be by themselves, to deal with their personal demons alone. Big things – like lightning bolts that missed.

Which was indeed were he found Sasuke… sitting on the ground with his shoulders hunched like he was twelve again. His hands were fisted against his knees and Naruto frowned at the lack of… well, lack of anything really. Beyond the white-knuckled fists and clenched jaw, Sasuke looked remarkably unresponsive to his surroundings.

Well, shit. Ramen wasn't going to fix this. But since Sasuke was family as well as a teammate, he shoved his hands in his pockets, strolled over to the ground and nudged him with his foot.

"Oi, teme? You breathing?"

"What do you think, dobe?" His response was immediate, but strangely monotone, even for Sasuke. When he lifted his gaze a moment later, Naruto could clearly see the red and swirling tomoes of the sharingan.

Well, _fuck_. Naruto upgraded his cursing, even as his eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you looking at, bastard?"

"Shut-up." And the words still lacked emotion, but they had a certain edge made Naruto's hackles rise. A heartbeat of tense studying later, and Naruto dropped to his haunches in front of him, blue eyes staring intensely into red. He refused to look away.

"Sasuke." He wasn't Sakura, but like _hell_ this was on. "Tell me."

They glared at each other for a long moment. But Naruto wasn't giving up. Sasuke might be a member of _that_ clan, but he was _Naruto's_ family. And Sasuke knew it too – he'd chosen Naruto and Sakura just as much as they had chosen him. And finally, Sasuke gritted through clenched teeth, "Itachi declared himself autonomous."

Naruto wind-milled as his balance wavered and crashed backwards before pushing himself back up onto the palms of his hands. There was a humorless smirk hovering along the edges of Sasuke's mouth and Naruto knew he looked ridiculous.

"_What_?" If he hadn't felt like Sakura had just punched him in the chest, he would have been a little horrified at the high pitched, cracking, I'm-just-hitting-puberty little boys voice. For a moment, he expected Sasuke to take it back, to shrug and tell him what really had happened.

"Autonomous – it means that while he will continue to be part of the clan and hold his position, he no longer has any responsibility towards the clan."

"I know what it means, stupid!" Naruto snarled as he balanced on his knees.

"Then what are you having a hard time understanding, moron?"

"How could he... do that? He's the clan heir! That's like Kakashi-sensei giving up _Icha Icha_! Baa-chan giving up _sake_!" Naruto stared at Sasuke with wide, wide eyes. The world had just started spinning backwards.

"Not anymore." And it was just at this moment – the brief moment where Sasuke's eyes drift down and to the side as if he was ashamed, that flick of a blink, where Naruto understood. And became furious.

Kyuubi raged inside and Naruto squeezed his eyes shut to close him out. With Itachi abdicating, that left Sasuke in the position he'd held, Sasuke who'd never thought that he measured up to his brother – and who the clan felt they would be able to deal with much more easily. Hell, even Naruto could see Sasuke doing a better job being clan head than Itachi, but not for the reasons the clan saw – Sasuke at least had a prayer at claiming sanity.

Not to mention – he was going to become Hokage. Naruto knew it in a way that he could _taste_ it. And Sasuke, as clan head… would be a powerful support for him. And he would be a powerful support for Sasuke. Some of those elders had to know, and plan for that. But Itachi had cornered Sasuke and used him like a shogi piece – and had somehow gotten away with something that _no one_ in the history of Konoha had: Kept all the benefits of belonging to a clan, with none of the shitty side-effects.

How – why – a pebble flicked off his forehead protector. "Oi!"

Sasuke stared back at him, his face still sickeningly blank. "Don't think too hard. You'll hurt yourself."

Naruto scowled and then straightened up and met Sasuke's red, pin-wheeled gaze straight on. Sasuke went still – waiting.

"Do you want me to kill him?"

Sasuke blinked, jaw going a little slack and the sharingan drained away. Naruto waited, watching his best-friend/brother. He was completely serious. Itachi was dangerous when he had the entire clan watching his leash carefully, but an Itachi who had found a way to wiggle out of his leash and walk unimpeded by the clan had the potential to go rabid.

Sasuke gave a half-choked noise and dropped his face into his hands and sighing, heavily.

Fists clenched, Naruto waited.

"He threatened to kill the clan if they didn't let him go, Naruto." His voice was tight, heavy with strain. "Right after he announced his intentions."

"Wait… what?"

And Sasuke, far from his normal response of 'I said it once already, why don't you pay attention,' actually felt the need to elaborate. "When Itachi declared his intentions of becoming autonomous, our father immediately objected. So Itachi paused, looked him straight in the eye, and said 'I will be rid of you, one way or another.'"

Naruto opened and closed his mouth. Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck. Shit. Squeezing his eyes shut, he counted to ten. It didn't work.

"What the fucking bloody hells?" Lunging to his feet, his fisted his hands together and snarled, the air starting to turn over-warm. The hot, flushing chakra of Kyuubi rushed through him and for a moment, all he saw was red.

"Sakura."

The ringing in his ears died suddenly and he felt deaf. "What?"

"Sakura."

Naruto stared at him and then ran his fingers through his hair. Double fuck-ety, damn. He'd known that Itachi was after Sakura – and Sakura must've been taking him seriously. Itachi might've wanted this for some time, but Sakura hated the Uchiha Clan – _hated it_ – and if things were ever going to get serious with them…

Shit, _serious_? Sakura and Itachi – _serious_? His brain just – cannot – process.

"Shut your mouth, dobe."

Sasuke's words were enough shake Naruto from his mental gobsmack but… but…

"Wait, wait, _wait_!" Naruto fisted his hands in his hair, tugging hard enough to hurt. "You're saying… you think that _Itachi_ declared autonomy from _the clan_ for _Sakura_?"

Sasuke stared at him flatly, mouth compressed in a straight, bloodless line.

And Naruto's brain just didn't want to accept it. For a moment, he glanced around honestly waiting for some sign that the world was imploding on itself. Because this was Sakura-chan and Itachi… and… and… Naruto slowly lowered himself to ground; still not certain sudden movement wouldn't tip the balance into the end of the world and just – stared at Sasuke. And Sasuke stared back.

The silence was heavy and pressed the reality of the situation on him. Sakura-chan. And Itachi. And Itachi had defied his entire clan for her – maybe would have even killed them. Seconds ticked passed. And suddenly, Naruto's eyes went wide and he shot to his feet.

"Wait, wait, _wait_! Are you saying that... that... bastard dumped everything on you, keeping all the perks _and_ is going to get Sakura _because_ of it?"

Sasuke _glared_. It was an impressive glare. And it spoke more than words.

Naruto paused to give an impressed whistle. That _bastard_. And then he met Sasuke's gaze, completely serious. "Do I need to kill Itachi, teme?"

Sasuke stilled. Naruto didn't flinch at the sudden intensity of Sasuke's gaze, the way his pupils widened and lightened into crimson spirals. Then he closed his eyes and the tension seemed to drain out of his shoulders until his body was slumped over again. Naruto frowned. That wasn't exactly the reaction he'd expected.

"You're forgetting something dobe."

Naruto bristled. He was being serious here! "I'm not afraid of your clan and Tsunade would forgive me… eventually."

For a moment it seemed as if there was an almost-smirk on Sasuke's face but then it was gone again.

"Sakura."

"You keep say – oh shit. You think _it's mutual_?"

Sasuke snorted. Naruto groaned. Of course. It would be. Of all the crazy bastards his Sakura-chan had to pick Uchiha Itachi. It was just his luck. But Itachi would've never made this move if he hadn't had some sort of assurance already, and Sakura would've never given it to him unless she was certain. Naruto raised a hand to his forehead and smoothed down his face. "Well… shit."

When his hand drops back down, he speaks with more certainty than he feels. "She'd forgive us too."

Sasuke grunted. "She'd _understand_. But would she really forgive us?"

It was a good point.

"…if we have to, we'll find out." He met Sasuke's gaze seriously, all of his focus on this problem right now. Itachi, cut loose from the clan, his hooks into their Sakura, his maneuvering forcing Sasuke into being clan heir. "Do I have to kill him?"

Sasuke was silent for a long moment, and then the smallest flicker of something that looked as if it might have been a smile in another life passed over his face and was gone. "If he did all this for her, what do you think he'll do to keep her happy?"

Naruto paused long enough for that to sink in. If it was that serious for Itachi – and it was Sakura, so of course it was – then… then this could be a very good thing. "If he hurts her…"

"He won't."

Naruto nodded slowly and shrugged. "If he does – we'll handle it. We're her family, after all."

* * *

_**Please Comment.**_


	25. The Storm

And it took 23 pages to wrap this story up. We won't keep you with the rambling – we hope you've enjoyed the ride. Authors Note at the bottom.

Just Enough

_This level reach of blue is not my sea;_  
_Here are sweet waters, pretty in the sun,_  
_Whose quiet ripples meet obediently_  
_A marked and measured line, one after one._  
_This is no sea of mine. that humbly laves_  
_Untroubled sands, spread glittering and warm._  
_I have a need of wilder, crueler waves;_  
_They sicken of the calm, who knew the storm._

Dorothy Parker

* * *

_3 Years Ago  
_Konoha Village

The drizzle made the air heavy. Shoving her long ponytail over her shoulder – and ignoring the slight frizz – Ino stubbornly set her jaw and finished the walk to #45. She only knew that Sakura still lived with her parents from some wheedling with Shikamaru. Luckily, she already knew where the home _was_ because she wasn't sure he would have given that up without some form of torture.

Not that she was unwilling to _provide_ the torture, mind.

Sakura was pale, with dark circles under her eyes when she opened the door. By the lack of noise coming from inside, Ino had to guess that forehead's parents weren't home. The surprise was muffled by the obvious exhaustion and Ino shifted her weight.

"Can I come in?"

Sakura still looked startled but that bland, professional expression settled over her tired face and she frowned, green eyes narrowed. Finally she sighed and made a motion with her hand, something almost rueful poking through the cracks of competency.

Ino had mostly expected this kind of reaction but she was surprised to find that she didn't like it anymore than she'd liked not knowing the person who had fixed Shikamaru's stupid leg. Lips pressing together, she marched inside and removed her shoes with just a little force and huffed her way into the living quarters without invitation. The parlor would have been okay, but she wanted there to be space between her and doors and windows before talking. Sakura didn't seem to mind – at least, she didn't say anything, which was more in-line with the behavior Ino expected and not this new Sakura.

"Did you need something, Ino-san?"

Ino nearly curled her fingers into fists – a physical sign that she was agitated. Taking a deep breath, she nearly turned and snarled when an unexpected flash of yellow caught her eyes. Frowning, she leaned forward and blinked at the photo framed by two bright, plastic daises. Two small faces were pressed together and were grinning widely. Sakura was even missing a tooth. There was a childish amusement in the picture Ino hadn't seen in years on either of their faces and the anger deflated. She wondered if it had been Sakura or her parents who had kept the picture.

"Ino-san?"

And Ino decided that she had just about had enough of that. "Really, Forehead?"

She watched Sakura out of the corner of her eye and she blinked when instead of rising to her bait, Sakura reached up and rubbed her temple. It was a sign of just how tired Sakura was that she would even allow that motion with the overly polite way she was addressing her.

"Ino-san, why are you here?"

Ino frowned at her. "You changed."

Sakura blinked. "Of course I changed."

She snorted, giving into the urge to cross her arms and arch a brow at her. Ino knew and didn't care that it was both an aggressive and defensive posture – she'd worry about her physical cues later. "Well, from where I'm standing it doesn't look like they've all been good. You're pale, you have bags under your eyes and your behavior with Shikamaru was ridiculous."

And there was that unexpected spark of temper. She'd seen it before in bursts and half-smothered starts but it flared to life and gave Sakura's face some color. Ino considered that and decided that maybe Tsunade-sama had been good for Sakura in that respect, at least.

"There was nothing wrong with my demeanor with Shikamaru," Sakura gritted out.

Ino snorted and tossed her hair. "Except that you treated him as you if had never seen him before. Kami forbid that you acknowledge us as friends, Sakura-_chan_."

Green eyes chilled over. Ino frowned as Sakura turned and determinedly walked her way back to the front door. The urge to roll her eyes was almost overwhelming at the way the door was carefully, precisely opened and a blank faced Sakura stared at her.

"Get out."

Ino leaned back against the mantel. "I'll get out when you can manage the chakra to throw me out, Forehead."

Sakura scowled a flush rising in her cheeks. "You just don't know what you talking about. Get out, Ino."

Ino straightened and gritted her teeth, her own temper starting to burn. "Well I'm not the one who stood in a hospital room and pretended that the people standing there were acquaintances, just another notch on the med-nin chart to whatever the hell you _do_!"

Sakura curled her hands into fists. "You don't know a _damn thing _about what you're talking about."

Ino marched forward and pointed at her. "I'm not the one who has all but disappeared inside the Hospital and has avoided everyone. You don't go to any of the usual spots, you don't show up at any of the community training fields and you apparently don't bat an eyelash when your friends show up hurt. What, exactly, am I missing, Sakura-_chan_?"

"It's this little thing called professionalism," Sakura snapped, moving forward to shove Ino's hand out of her face. "As a med-nin if I got upset every time one of my friends was brought in hurt, I would be absolutely useless! And I refuse to be useless, Ino. Not for you, and not for them, and I don't care what anyone else says! Why would I take time from my training to show up on the community training fields? So that you and everyone else could rub it in my face that my team is gone? Is that what you want to see?"

Ino involuntarily took a step back, eyes widening.

"What am I supposed to _do_, Ino? We show up to train in _threes_. Who am I going to train with? Why do you think I go to the hospital? I'm going to do this and I'm going to be good at it because _what other choice do I have_?"

And Ino was momentarily stunned. She had no idea that Sakura had taken the disbandment of Team Seven so hard. Naruto was just an all around annoyance and Sasuke had apparently never developed a spine when it came to his clan. But there was a raw pain in Sakura's eyes and Ino wasn't certain her nails weren't drawing blood she had squeezed her hands so tightly.

And Ino wasn't certain that her feeling of abandonment was just with her team.

"So if you're going to show up here and tell me that you thought I was abandoning you by putting on airs when I was _doing my job_, I'm going to have to politely tell you to shove it up your ass."

Ino spluttered. Sakura ignored her, hand slashing downward, chest heaving.

"Would you rather I have burst into tears? Started ringing my hands? Shikamaru is walking now, Ino, without a limp and without any significant setback in his training or _yours_. Because of me." She shoved her hand through her hair and took a deep breath before pinning those dark green eyes on Ino with a palpable rage that seemed almost too much for her thin, pale frame to handle.

"I'm not just becoming a mednin, I _am_ one. So if you ever, _ever_ think about coming in here and telling me how to do my job again, remember that I learned 47 ways to cause breakouts and rashes in the past _week_."

Ino scowled. "Well it's about damn time _someone_ taught you something."

Sakura blinked, her posture shifting back on her heels. "What?"

Ino nodded. "Damn straight. I'm not entirely sure how you're going to _rash_ someone to death, but at least you're _learning_. I suppose if the Hokage has decided to take you on there must be some talent to work with – hell if I know what. It's not like you're taking the time to show up and show us all the ways you're leaning to kick our asses. Well, that changes. No more excuses. I expect you to show up on our free sessions on Saturday or Sunday. Unless you're scared."

Sakura's brows tucked together. "I just told you—"

Ino lifted her hand and put _force_ into her glare. "Oh, shut up. Yeah, we work in threes but adding a forth when we aren't doing actual team training isn't that big of a deal. Having someone new work with us is the first change that Shikamaru started insisting on as soon as he became chunin. I think it's just so he can get out of workouts, honestly. "

Sakura crossed her arms. "I am not joining your training sessions as some pity party."

Ino arched a brow. "I am too damn good at what I do to ever invite someone inferior to spar with me and I'll shove something sharper than my foot up _your_ ass if you suggest that again."

Sakura shifted her stance and her chin rose. "Try it."

"Show up on Saturday and I will."

Sakura growled. "Fine."

"Good." Ino tossed her hair and almost preened. "So now that we've got that out of the way, next time I walk into the hospital with Shikamaru's leg broken because he decided to sleep-run, I fully expect Sakura and not a Hyuuga-wanna-be!"

"I'm being professional!"

Ino stared at her. "And Tsunade-sama? What do you call it when she threatens to strap someone to the bed or reinjure their brains in the hope that it realigns what was obviously damage when they were small children?"

"She's the Hokage. She's the best mednin of our time! She could walk into the operating room hung-over and still do a better job than half the doctors in the hospital."

Ino smiled sweetly. "And setting a fine example for dealing with idiots and friends."

Sakura scowled, shoulders hunching. "Go away, Ino. I'm tired."

Ino studied her before nodding. "Alright. I'll see you on Saturday then."

Sakura watched her and finally the edges of a smile just touched the corners of her mouth. "Alight. I'll see you Saturday."

Ino nodded and put her shoes back on. "I'd suggest you bring something a little more threatening than rashes though. While they'd obviously be annoying during the week, they really won't do much to stop Shikamaru from trying to impale you." She paused. "Although I bet it'd be worth it to use it against Kiba just to see how many flea baths he takes."

Sakura cracked an actual smile and shook her head. "Go away Ino!"

Ino stepped back outside and was relieved to see it had stopped drizzling. Her hair really couldn't take much more before it frizzed completely out. Glaring upwards for a moment, she started down the street. It wasn't fixed, but Sakura would show up on Saturday and the Saturday after that and it was clear that she was skipping meals. If her friend was going to do this… mednin thing, then it was clear that she was going to have to make sure Sakura didn't spend all her time haunting the hospital halls.

Decided, Ino changed directions. Clearly her good deed meant she should spend some of her pay on that new shirt she had been looking at.

X

_Present Day  
_Konoha Village

There was a quiet to the late morning sunshine that was a contrast to how she usually spent her mornings. Instead of chasing down her teammates, scrambling behind Tsunade on medical or Hokage related emergencies or terrorizing her own nurses, Sakura padded on bare feet across the cool tile in Itachi's kitchen. She had at least another half hour before she had to go out and deal with things – like her teammates or the restoration work – but until then, it was just her, whatever was in the fridge and a wide-smile she hadn't been able to completely diffuse since she had woken a second time. The first had been to a persistent, persuasive mouth and lingering hands just before dawn. He had left not long after. She was nearly certain that it was either Tsunade or ANBU who had summoned him; she wasn't certain the clan could have budged him so immediately, or that he would have bothered to setup that level of jutsu to alert him in _this_ home that he was needed for clan business.

Opening the fridge, she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth in an attempt to stifle her smile's attempt to widen. Rice balls. If she hadn't already _known_ that this morning's disappearance hadn't been his idea, this would have clinched it. There was no chance that Itachi would have made these without intending on cashing in on her reaction. Amused, she picked one up and went hunting for her shoes.

Showing her the hand signals to unlock the genjutsu on the house had been the equivalent of giving her the key – but she wasn't sure that meant that she was invited to stay, or if it meant… well, she wasn't sure what it implied at all besides a permanence to this relationship that made her feel almost giddy. They'd have time to talk and set up ground rules later. _After_…

Sakura found that she was pressing her hand to her lips like a civilian school girl and shook her head with a little laugh. Right. _After_. First things first – she had to find Naruto and Sasuke. She wouldn't put it past Itachi to tweak his brother about their new relationship and _she_ wanted to be the one to tell him. Tell both of them – they deserved to hear it from her like what it was, something that made her happy, instead of what Itachi would no doubt make it seem to be like – like some sort of expression of superiority.

She glanced in the mirror on her way out of his house and saw that she'd have to set a jutsu over herself if she wanted to hide that glow. Even her _hair_ looked more lustrous than normal, and she couldn't keep back a smile. She'd had lovers before, good ones along with average, but being with Itachi had been…

Her eyes glazed over the slightest bit as she recalled the thoroughness of his exploration, his tightly leashed control, and just how he'd gasped when she'd made him lose it. Her smile turned absolutely wicked and she shook her head, laughing again. She had to get a grip on herself, or Naruto and Sasuke would never let her live it down.

_Kami help me if _Ino_ finds me like this_.

The horror of that pulled her enough into reality that she managed to reign in her smile. The only thing worse than Ino would be Ino _and Tsunade_... shaking off that mental image thanks to years of training, she yanked on her shoes and went to collect rice balls for the road. She paused at the door, considering the half-dozen that remained. While she was certainly capable of eating them all, there was also the potential benefit of having them on hand. Naruto would probably call them bribes, but these had _fish_...

No reason not to cushion the blow and there was _no way_ she was eating ramen.

Decided, she wrapped them up and took them with her. First stop – go home and get a change of clothes. If only there was a jutsu for cleaning clothes after long nights out. Now that would be _really_ useful…

It took her a few minutes to decide _how_ to leave. The shinobi in her wanted to explore, but with the heavy jutsu on the house she didn't feel that leaping from roof to roof was the best course to get home. There was no reason for anyone to connect seeing her in this part of the village to Itachi, but it was best to be cautious until she had a chance to talk to him. So she went out the back door and transported herself into her neighborhood. Then she checked herself for any tags Itachi might have set up to attach to someone leaving from the inside of his house. Finding none, she checked a second time just to be sure and then headed to her place.

Halfway home, she paused and then rolled her eyes. It looked like she wouldn't have to go search her for her wayward teammates after all. By the feel of it, Naruto and Sasuke had commandeered her living room and weren't trying to hide from her. Huffing out a breath, she picked up her pace and pulled out her keys. Unlocking her door, she stepped inside, shutting the door behind her as she scanned the room for her teammates. Sakura paused, gaze resting on the opened kits and empty flasks in her living room and scowled.

"Is there a reason you helped yourselves to my personal medical supplies?"

Naruto hopped off her couch and stalked over to her, wagging his finger like some sort of baba. "_You_ didn't come home last night, young lady! What else were we supposed to do, go to the _hospital_? And where were you, anyway?"

Sakura stared at Naruto for a moment before flicking her gaze to Sasuke – the sane one – because one of them had to be sane, right? Kami didn't hate her this much. But no, Sasuke was at three o'clock, a few feet away from Naruto, _glowering_ at her.

They'd gotten hurt, broken into her house, and instead of – was Sasuke's arm _broken_? – going to the hospital, they'd _used her medical supplies_. With the hand not holding her peace offering, Sakura reached up to massage her temple. "How many times," she started out quietly enough, "have I _told_ you that if I'm _not_ here, you're supposed to go directly to the hospital! Naruto! Sasuke!"

She shouldered past Naruto to give them each a solid thump on the head before glaring at them both. "What did you two do?"

"_Us_?" Naruto said, nursing the brand new red lump on his forehead. "What did _you_ do? You made that bastard put Sasuke in charge of the clan!"

Sakura turns to look at Naruto, eyes wide as oranges. "What?"

_I didn't hit him _that_ hard, did I?_

"He's telling the truth."

Sakura whirled her head around – somehow, between yelling at Naruto, hitting Sasuke, yelling at Naruto again, and then wondering if something had shook loose in Naruto's head, Sasuke had managed to sneak up _right_ behind her, and was regarding her with that peculiar light in his eyes which indicated that he had spotted prey. Her own eyes narrow in response. Clearly, they were both in serious need of medical attention. _Mental_ medical attention. Because she had stopped being prey a very long time ago, and they were talking nonsense. She met Sasuke's gaze and without turning around, lifted up a hand to cut off Naruto as his chest swelled with what was probably going to be one of his spouting monologues.

"You know what? Just sit down. You too, Sasuke. I need to see what you stupidly fixed yourself and what is left to deal with."

"Hey!" Naruto spluttered. "We know how to deal with stuff! You taught us!"

"And there are more important matters to deal with." Sasuke didn't move one inch, and in fact attempted to intercept Sakura from heading towards her medical supplies that they had dumped out on her living room table.

Sakura glared at Sasuke while addressing Naruto. "What I taught you was to _go to the hospital_ if I wasn't here! Clearly, I wasn't here so you should be at _the hospital_! And you," she jabbed her finger mercilessly at where she suspected Sasuke's arm had been broken. He winced. "If you're going to try to take me on, you should at least wait until you're in better shape."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and within the space of a blink he moved his arm – his broken arm – to capture her hand in his. "This is more important."

Sakura blinked at him owlishly while Naruto moved out from behind the shelter of Sasuke's back to point accusingly at the bag in her other hand. "Are those _rice balls_?"

He sounded indignant. Almost offended. That wasn't right. She looked from one of her boys to the other and it slowly sank in on her that they were very, very serious. This had not been part of the plan. "What happened?"

Naruto crossed his arms and looked affronted while still managing that half-accusing stare. "I told you. You _did_ something!"

There was a headache growing behind her eyes. Curling her fingers, she finally turned back to Sasuke. He studied her for a long moment, arm dangling oddly, expression almost grim. Then he made a gesture that on anyone else might have been a resigned shrug.

"Itachi gave up his position of heir – he is now autonomous within the clan."

Sakura stared blankly at her teammate. For a moment, everything went absolutely silent as her brain tried to process something, anything other than – holy fuck. _Gave up_. Autonomous. Her brain just couldn't seem to get past that to casual sentence – he could _do that_? _Why would he_...

"Oh sweet kami."

Naruto waved his arms. "I know. So what did you _do_? What sort of jutsu makes a person crazy like that... I mean, he's already crazy but that's _crazy_."

Sakura felt herself wobble before sitting down abruptly. Naruto's eyes widened and he half-lunged to catch her, just missing. The thud of her tailbone hitting the wood of her floor pulled her out of her daze so that she could appreciate the startled expression on both of their faces. Swallowing, she absently noticed she hadn't sat on the rice balls.

"Sasuke... did you just say that Itachi, _your older brother_, is no longer heir to the Uchiha clan?"

Sasuke pulled his face back under control and almost managed his usual sneer. "Yes."

"Holy shit," Sakura said blankly. "Holy shit."

The world was upside-down and nothing made any sense anymore. "Why would he – _do_ that?"

The look on Sasuke's face turned calculating. His voice still managed a detached monotone, but it carried a silky undertone of something she couldn't identify – kami, was it inherent in the position itself to be inscrutable? "Why don't you tell us, Sakura?"

She'd love to. She really, really would. But her brain seemed to be stuck at the moment. Why would he do that? He'd never seemed particularly _attached_ to it, true, but Itachi never seemed particularly attached to _anything. _She knew that he was attracted to power, and the position of heir, of taking over the clan—

- _the clan_.

"Say that second part again," Sakura said.

"What?" Naruto said, still peering down at her with a confused and concerned look on his face.

"That second part," she insisted. "He's no longer the clan heir and he's – what?"

"He's declared himself autonomous." Sasuke's monotone cut through her confusion. There was a pause before he continued, explaining the word to her as if she was very slow. "He and his family will have the protection and privileges of the Uchiha name, but they will be exempt from clan politics."

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut. Just fuck. This was… impossible. Wasn't this impossible? This should have been impossible because… '_Can you really propose 'always' with me without your clan's approval?_' Swallowing what wanted to be a whimper; Sakura opened her eyes to find one perturbed and one concerned face staring at her.

"By exempt…"

Naruto blew out a huge breath. "Sakura-chan, I'm the dense one! It means that Sasuke is the heir and Itachi is not. Are you okay?"

No, she was definitely not okay. Because she slept with him! And he… he… '_maybe if it was just you and just me… I won't marry into a clan, Itachi. Especially yours_.' Because she'd told him… '_I've seen what they've done to Sasuke. I want better than that for my children. I've seen what clan politics are like… I won't do it._'

And now he'd – done it. She'd made him getting away from the clan a condition for her 'everything' and he'd – done it.

Her mouth moved without her permission, the thoughts still clicking together in her brain. "Holy fucking hells, I think I'm engaged."

Naruto took a breath and glanced over at Sasuke. Something unspoken passed between them. Sakura wasn't really interested in their non-verbal communication. Instead of worrying about whatever was going on in their heads she opened her stash of rice balls and popped the first one into her mouth.

"Well, I guess I really can't kill him now." Naruto grumbled, flopping onto the floor next to her and reaching for his own rice ball.

Sakura yanked them out of his reach, startled. "What?" Who said anything about _killing_ Itachi?

Sasuke looked put out. "We're not having this conversation again."

"What conversation?" Sakura insisted, looking between her teammates. They were not going to get away with talking around her on this one, not when – just _shit_.

Naruto eyed the rice balls. He opened his mouth and got a good look at the expressions on his teammates faces. "Um..."

Sakura maneuvered the rice balls away from him. "Naruto, what are you talking about?"

"Aww, it's not like that Sakura-chan! It's just..." he paused, considering his words. His eyes cut over to Sasuke who looked resigned to his fate. To Naruto's relief, he shifted his weight to catch Sakura's attention and took over.

"Sakura."

She curled her fingers into the last rice ball and met his eyes.

"Obviously, what was done was done for _you_."

Sasuke's eyes were dark and impassive, but the clue is never in an Uchiha's gaze, it's in the way the corners of their eyes tighten ever so slightly, and Sasuke's were having a regular crease parade. He was upset.

Itachi had done this – _for her_ – given up his spot, maneuvered Sasuke like a _shogi_ piece and – and Sasuke had been struggling his whole life for his brother's acceptance and admiration and now she had just swept in and taken it, leaving him with the life-long responsibility of dealing with the fucking _Uchiha Clan Counsel_.

And on top of all that – she was engaged to Itachi. She wasn't sure how Sasuke would feel about that when he'd been against the connection from the first – he'd always been protective of her, both her boys had and now… Itachi had tricked Sasuke into taking his place… so he could take their place? Was that what they thought? Was that what _Itachi_ thought? If that's what he thought he had another think coming, but what hadn't he _told_ her and…

…engaged? Really?

Sakura finished off the last of her rice ball and the room was too small. The walls were caving in and her boys were looking and her and she – she didn't know what to tell them. She didn't know what to think. She sprung up abruptly. "I need to get out of here."

Naruto followed her up, hand curling at his side. Then he relaxed, boyish grin back in place and something in his eyes easing the growing tension in her chest. "Punch him good for me, Sakura-chan!"

Naruto, at least, wasn't giving up on her. She turned back at the doorway to glance back at Sasuke – Sasuke who stood there with the broken arm she couldn't focus long enough to heal, Sasuke with the inscrutable expression on his face, Sasuke who had been hurt by this, "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just – I'm sorry."

Sakura turned and left her apartment before she had a chance to see a curious flicker of emotion cross Sasuke's face. Outside was full of open air and the room to breathe. Both which had been missing inside her apartment. She was torn between a giddy, unbelievable happiness and uncertain kind of rage. Itachi had used Sasuke, his brother and her teammate, to get what he wanted. That she was what he had wanted was something else entirely. She wished she knew if she wanted to kiss him or punch him.

"Forehead! You will not believe what I heard this morning!"

Sakura looked up and blinked at Ino as she marched down the street. "Ino?"

Ino reached her and instead of stopping, simply grabbed her arm and tugged Sakura down the street to a much quieter corner, near the civilian market. Pushing her into a half-alley, she met Sakura's eyes straight on.

"Ino?"

"What do you know about the shake-up in the Uchiha Clan?"

Sakura's brain may have made an actual sound as it fizzled and snapped. "Ino – I think I'm engaged."

Ino's big blue eyes went wide, and a few hand signals later she'd transported them to her apartment. "Tell me everything. Now. Start with _who_ you are engaged to and _how_. Because I thought you were still having your fling with Itachi."

Sakura opened and closed her mouth and finally just shut it, staring at her long time friend. Ino frowned at her, blue eyes narrowing before her eyes went wide.

"_Wait_... are you saying that you're _engaged to Itachi_?"

Sakura swallowed. "I think so."

"You think?" Ino flung her hands out, her eyes even larger than they had been moments before. Sakura was taken momentarily aback at the similarity to Naruto in the gesture. "How do you _think_ you are engaged to Itachi of all people? What even _gives you the idea_?"

Sakura ran her fingers through her hair. "We went on a mission together."

One shapely brow crept upwards and Sakura hastily continued. "Before the mission... we had a discussion. On the monument. About us. What... the expectations were."

Ino frowned at her. "Only you would use a mission as an excuse for a discussion."

Sakura ignored her. "He... he said he wanted everything."

A wrinkle formed between Ino's brows. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? For a shinobi with his qualities, that's a pick up line that is seriously lacking."

"I don't think he was referring to sex, Ino."

"Why in kami's name not?"

"Because... because I asked him. What he meant and how long." Sakura took a deep breath. "He said _always_, Ino. Always. So I told him the truth. I told him that I wouldn't be his mistress and that I wouldn't have anything to do with a clan. _Why_ I don't like clans. And he... he asked if that was the only thing holding me back."

When Ino finally spoke, her words were carefully measured. "Forehead... what business is happening within the Uchiha Clan that Tsunade-sama called Itachi in for a crack of dawn meeting this morning?"

"Itachi gave up his position of heir – he is now autonomous within the clan."

"Bloody fucking hells." Ino breathed. She sank down on the couch behind her, eyes slightly dazed as she processed the information. "That's... that's..."

Sakura planted her face in hands. "Sasuke is heir. Itachi _used him_ and how I'm engaged to him... and I..."

"I cannot believe that he goes for pink hair and huge foreheads!" Ino burst out, overriding the uncertainty in Sakura's voice. "He _dumped the clan for you_! How does that _work_?"

Sakura's head snapped up. "What?"

Ino was on her feet and pointing. "You! This is just ridiculous! You somehow manage to not only get the _single best catch in the village,_ but you managed to talk him into getting rid of most of his baggage! Voluntarily! Without anyone dying! In the process, you set your best friend/teammate up to be able to completely smack the rest of his clan around, deal with his father on even footing and somehow, _somehow_ you do this with that giant forehead! Don't even get me started on how this is going to affect the politics in the village when it comes time for Tsunade-sama to step down! _Why are you sulking?_"

Sakura sat there stunned. A loud lecture on the nature of the _benefits_ and _unfairness_ of this situation was the last thing she expected and Ino had a point – but Sasuke… but, yes, well, this _would_ work out for the better for him and she and Naruto would have his back so Fugaku wouldn't _dare_ – but Itachi had used Sasuke to get what he wanted and – in doing so, given Sasuke exactly what he always wanted.

Maybe… maybe it hadn't been something horrible. Or maybe it _had been_ and that was okay, it didn't matter, because in the end… in the end Sasuke would see this was just giving him room to step out from behind Itachi's shadow, that as heir he could set his own rules and _make_ them abide by it. And Naruto… what would this mean for him when he became Hokage? He'd have the Uchihas' support and…

Itachi would make a horrifying clan head anyway. He'd never cared about the clan, he's never cared about anything other than pushing his own potential and those few, few people he'd chosen to take into his care.

And he'd chosen her.

Sakura blinked up at Ino. "Ino. I'm _engaged_." A slow smile spread her lips, a happy giddy feeling cresting the wave of her uncertainty. Engaged. To Itachi. If she was right…

"Yes." Ino's lips pursed in an attempt to hide the twitch of a smile in the corners of her mouth. "So you've said. Although I still don't see the attraction for pink hair. I can't figure out what is more ridiculous – that you managed to catch Itachi or the fact that he went and rearranged his entire clan to do it."

Sakura's smile widened. "He did, didn't he?"

"It's disgustingly romantic and not something I would have given that particular ANBU credit for. It's _unfair_, Sakura. You weren't even trying." Ino threw up her hands and flopped back onto the couch, losing the fight with her own smile. "Can you just imagine Fugaku's expression?"

Sakura blinked. "Shit."

"What?"

"Can you imagine Fugaku's reaction?"

"I'm sure..." Ino paused. "Oh."

"He doesn't think Sasuke is strong enough to be heir. He..." Sakura swallowed. "What do you think Itachi did?"

Ino paused. "I'm pretty sure I don't actually want to know."

Sakura bit her lip. There was no way the clan would have let Itachi go without some sort of resistance but... "I'll see you later Ino!"

Ino blinked as she suddenly found herself alone. She narrowed her eyes. This conversation was far from over. There was a lot of information Sakura had clearly left out – what the hell had led up to that conversation on the monument? When had she finally jumped Itachi's bones? And most importantly, what kind of damage was going to be appropriate if this turned out to be one giant Uchiha mind fuck?

X

The meeting with the Hokage had gone as well as could be expected. Fugaku was limited in what he could say; by agreeing to Itachi's terms, he had tied his own hands. This entire matter neatly fell into the overall jurisdiction of the Uchiha Clan, which left Tsunade very little to work with. Other than her firm discussion on how this did not lower expectations for his duties to the village, in fact, it would possibly increase them; she had been surprisingly docile about the entire affair. Itachi wondered if she saw through his mechanisms and realized the _whys_ as well as the _hows_ – she'd had that disturbing glint in her eye towards the end, like when she'd told him Sakura was practicing with Lee…

The genjutsu was elaborate and it settled over him like a weightless net. It took him half a step before he managed to realize the edges of it and another handful of heartbeats before he had cut through the strings of it. The room was small, painted an ugly shade of green and sharingan bright when the last of twisted landscape faded from view.

And his ka-chan stood between him and the door, hands folded together – gaze pinwheel bright.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, the eight-year-old who had watched his ka-chan threaten his oto-san with a spoon gulped. He had never had his mother's gaze trained on him in such a fashion before, and Mikoto's tightly leashed fury was easily discernible in the lethal fluidity of her posture. Itachi was not _frightened_, but he didn't mind admitting to himself that the ambush left him the slightest bit… nervous. The fact that the excitement he should feel at being faced with anything like a challenge was conspicuously absent was cause for concern; even more so because it was replaced with the uncomfortable feeling of a boy who'd been caught sneaking dango before supper.

"Ka-chan," he acknowledged, pleased with the modulation of his voice. "Your genjutsu was—"

"Don't." His mother's eyes narrowed dangerously. Itachi got the message: his mother was not in the mood to be placated by one of his rare compliments. "You and I have a few items we will discuss. I am exceedingly disappointed in you, Itachi. You haven't even checked the room for traps."

Itachi's nostrils flared in surprise and as his gaze flickered into the first stage of the sharingan, Itachi found himself on the unfamiliar footing of being caught off guard as his mother continued.

"I have had all day to prepare this room for our little chat, Itachi. You are an exceptional shinobi, but with proper planning and the element of surprise, even an exceptional shinobi can be eliminated by a very, very good one. I am very, very good. As are many others in our clan. Do you think that they have forgotten you standing in front of them and threatening to eliminate them? Do you think they are willing to let that threat stand? Because of your insistence of doing this on your own and doing it immediately, you have painted on yourself a target for assassination! Instead of achieving your goal through careful planning and incorporating your allies into it, you have made enemies of your entire clan! This was foolish, and sloppy, and I sincerely hope she was worth it."

Itachi considered both his ka-chan's stance and what little expression she was allowing to show under the disappointment and rage. He had expected a reaction from her, and he wasn't so caught up in his own strength not to acknowledge his surprise. She was challenging not only his maneuverings within the clan but making it absolutely clear that she knew why he'd done it. Sakura. And his mother challenging his justification that she had been worth the very real threat he had laid at Fugaku's feet.

And by structuring her displeasure in such a way, by catching his attention with her genjutsu and the possibility of traps, she had ensured that she had his undivided attention. It wasn't so much that his mother was worried about assassinations – a probability he had considered, planned for, and discarded – but that he had failed to come to her with this before the meeting with the council. In his maneuverings, he had managed to upset his ka-chan. Her display was a reminder that he was not invulnerable and that should she chose, Uchiha Mikoto was a very real threat.

With great deliberation, he let the sharingan die in his eyes.

"She is."

"Then let me make one thing perfectly clear." Mikoto met his gaze fearlessly, her eyes stern and hard. "You are _not_ keeping me from my grandchildren."

Itachi knew better than to laugh. "Of course not. Who else would I trust to babysit them?"

"Then we understand each other."

Itachi tilted his head. "We do."

Mikoto nodded and the motioned with her hand for him to follow her out of the room. He strode to her side and opened the door. As she left, he studied the angle of her face.

"Ka-chan."

"_Mmm_?"

Itachi paused. Mikoto arched a brow at him in faint puzzlement while her dark eyes held the faintest spark of amusement.

"The traps."

Mikoto laughed, the sound surprisingly open in the pale hallways of the tower. "Itachi. As if I'd put traps like that in Hokage tower! I'm only prepared to owe Tsunade so much."

X

Sakura did not immediately seek out Itachi after her conversation with Ino. She had a lot to think about and Pig had given her even more. Sasuke wasn't a child the clan could manipulate and intimidate into doing whatever they wanted anymore; even if they didn't know it, and with her and Naruto's backing… it would be good for the clan, good for Naruto and good for Konoha.

Could she really be upset with him using Sasuke if it was to his own benefit?

…no. They were shinobi. They were all tools of the village. And yes. They were family. They shouldn't have to play these kinds of games.

…but on the other hand, this was Uchiha Itachi she was talking about. She couldn't expect anything less than games. Uchiha Itachi who had, apparently, set his mind to remove every impediment for their… permanent exclusivity.

Married. She would be married. If she said yes. She wanted him. Last night had only increased that desire. She wanted to learn every part of him, seek out the spots that made him moan; memorize a map of his body with her fingertips and mouth. And… she wanted to be known by him as well.

But he was dangerous. He was so, so dangerous. And he probably would never be entirely sane.

That shouldn't excite her so much.

Sanity was clearly overrated.

Mind made up, Sakura paid her bill – as thinking this over had clearly called for a cup of sake –

and made her way back to Itachi's home. First, they would have to talk. Then, if what he had to say matched up with what she thought were his reasons… he'd have to ask. He wasn't going to get away with declaring that she was his as if they were in the protolithic era.

Then… Sakura smiled at the thought of what would come next, eyes lighting with anticipation, her heart too eager to betray her by increasing its rhythm. But first, she had to wait for him to return. She thought about seeking him out, but quickly discarded the idea, preferring privacy for their upcoming discussion.

It didn't take her long to make her way back – even using the transportation jutsu to and from; she had a pretty good lock on where the house sat. It had been automatic to check the skyline for the Hokage tower and the do a quick scan for shadows to use the sun as her second focus point. Still, even with knowledge of the general location, if not for the key to the genjutsu and her perfect chakra control, she wouldn't have been able to relocate his home. Traveling the way she had, she had been able to see how far from the house the first tendrils of the jutsu had started. It was both terrifying and fascinating to see just how much control he had – she had to bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling as she reconfirmed how much effort he put into his privacy.

And how far he had let her in.

Entering the house, she immediately knew by the sounds in the kitchen that she didn't have to wait long. In fact – not at all. Suddenly and obscurely nervous, she took the time to smooth down her hair before entering the kitchen. The sudden domestic feel to the situation struck and she didn't know whether to be amazed (Itachi, _domestic_) or slightly terrified. But this wasn't the first time he had cooked for her and Sakura didn't back down.

Even when her heart beating staccato in her throat.

Which might have explained the funny hitch in her breathing when she walked in to find Itachi molding a handful of rice, a plate of white balls not-yet wrapped in nori and something simmering on the stove. She paused in the doorway and watched him and he arched a dark brow at her.

"Rice balls?" She refused to be embarrassed by how delighted she sounded at having them twice in one day.

"You already ate them all." It was a statement and a question and she grinned.

"I was hungry."

"_Hmmmm_," Dark eyes sparked for a moment and somehow he managed to make the noise _hungry_ as he reached out and start to work another rice ball into shape, gaze intent. Sakura lowered her eyes to watch those long fingers against the rice for a moment before she moved to sprawl against counter. Glancing up from her lashes, she watched his gaze narrow before she reached out and snitched a rice ball, popping it into her mouth.

The edge of her mouth lifted as she fought her smile at the way he managed to convey his amusement and disapproval before she sat on the stool next to her. Bracing her chin on her palm, she glanced over at the stove before turning her attention back to him.

"I ran into Naruto and Sasuke. Or rather, they were waiting on me when I finally made it home."

The barest quirk of an eyebrow was his only response. Aggravating man. Sakura saw that he wasn't going to make this easy on her and was abruptly… emboldened by this. She didn't _need_ him to make it easy on her. "They told me what you did."

His face became studiously impassive.

"_Itachi_." She said his name and – if she hadn't had all of his attention before, she felt it now, sizzling on the end of her skin like static. "Why did you leave me to hear that from Sasuke?"

"I did not anticipate them camping in your living room like children." Itachi's eyes warmed infinitesimally. "I was… preoccupied."

Sakura bit her lip and admitted he was right. There _had_ been no reason for Itachi to plan for Naruto and Sasuke using her living room as a makeshift hospital; hell, _she_ hadn't anticipated it. Especially since they knew better! Since she had already realized he hadn't left on his own accord, she decided she could let him off the hook for not telling her immediately. Still.

Tilting her head, she kept her eyes on his. "There isn't anything stopping you from telling me _now_."

Itachi was perfectly still, his eyes darkening for a moment before he gave a barely perceptible nod. Sakura watched him, waiting to see if he would explain himself to her. He'd never come out and _explained_ when he could lead her to the answer, but she needed to know if he _would_. If he would risk her rejection.

"The Uchiha Clan agreed to my… _request_ for autonomy." His tone was utterly mild but the small hairs on the back of her neck rose anyway at the inflection at the word 'request.' "Doing so has placed Sasuke in the position of Heir."

She hardly had a chance to sort through her feelings on that, when he blinked, and the pinwheels of the sharingan twisted through the darkness of his eyes. "Does anything else hold you back _now_, Sakura?"

Sakura bit her lip. It was one thing entirely to reason out that he had done this for her, _for her_, for the… possessing of her, so that nothing would hold her back, but it was entirely another to have him confirm it. Her breath caught in her throat, eyes dilated. She was standing in Uchiha Itachi's kitchen and he was telling her that he had negotiated a way past all her reasons to reject him. He'd gone beyond telling her that he wanted to learn her, beyond _telling_ her that he wanted her, he'd shown her the depths of his desire for her last night and now he was revealing just how much he wanted her to stay and be his alone. He was telling her that he wanted to marry her.

She narrowed her eyes at that thought. At least – she assumed he wanted to marry her. Crossing her arms, she managed to ready herself for battle instead of just – leaning in, reaching out, touching – "There is one more thing."

His eyes narrowed at the corners. "And that is?"

Sakura frowned at him. "You haven't asked."

Itachi appeared as close to poleaxed that she'd ever seen, in that he went absolutely still at the slightest pucker appeared on his usually smooth forehead and the sharingan faded from his eyes. Sakura tilted her head to the side, considering. She really didn't think she was asking for too much.

…but when his silence dragged on a few, torturous heartbeats, her gaze hardened. "I am not entering into this relationship on an assumption, Uchiha-san."

'_You've wormed your way far too deep into my heart for that. All my cards are on the table, Itachi. You did this. You escalated this – moving the pieces around so there would be 'no impediment.' And now it's all or nothing.'_

Itachi lowered his lashes and studied the set to Sakura's mouth and the stubborn, determined look in her all-too expressive eyes and _considered_. It was an expression similar to the challenge she had given him on the monument those few weeks ago; nearly the same as that first sparing session when she had broken his rib. She wasn't backing down. She wanted him to lay his plans at her feet, to explain them – to have the right to accept or reject all that he had done.

Challenging him on his intentions – the same way she had challenged his methods on their mission. She had made it clear that she would be treated like an equal partner then, '_don't make the mistake of treating me like a toy,_' and he found himself frustrated and grudgingly accepting.

He'd made his choice. Proved it. He'd caught that brilliant glimpse of acceptance behind her eyes as that sharp, exquisitely controlled mind had understood what he had been telling her. As she realized exactly _why_ he had done what he had. But even knowing his motivations, taking all the pieces he had let her collect – she still wanted to hear it.

Impossible, infuriating woman. Something sparked and heated in his gaze at the way she demanded respect, made him prove himself worthy… and he had, and he would. For her, _only her_, he would explain himself.

And when he was done, she would be so completely his that any memory of any previous loyalty, any other affection, and any other lover would be so completely burned from her mind that all she would see, all she would breathe, all she would know was himself. He had accepted her previous entanglements, made her loyalties his own, acknowledged her weaknesses as his… and now in return she would return his fascination, his desire – even his possession. He would see to it.

Slowly, so slowly, Itachi wiped his hands clean of the rice he'd been forming, watching Sakura the whole time, gaze greedily noting the way she swallowed before stalking towards her on silent feet. He stopped just short of her, where each breath of her body brushed his and he breathed in, his eyes dilating in return as a wealth of last night's memories flooded his mind in response to her scent, to the way her green eyes had taken on an almost-glazed, almost-too-aware look while continuing to meet his. Itachi felt himself begin to respond to her, and welcomed it.

He reached out with the very tips of his fingers, placing one hand on her neck in a caressing motion before those fingers slipped around to brace the back of her neck. His other hand reached out to smooth a strand of pink away from her face and – drawn by a curious impulse – he lifted it up to his lips and kissed it. Itachi felt her gaze follow the movement, hid his satisfaction at how wide her eyes became, the way her mouth dropped open just enough to soften her lips.

_Yes_.

He wouldn't need anything more. Just this slight touch – it was enough. She was his, and he exulted in it. "Marry me, Sakura." He dropped the strand, reached out for her anyway, that hand easing her hair away from her face before tilting her face just so – and he bent down, holding her gaze, and breathed against her lips. "Marry me."

Those heartbeats felt like years, but he did not move forward when she spoke – in fact his sharingan switched on almost of its own accord. He wanted to remember every inflection, every play of light and emotion on her face when she breathed out, "Yes."

Triumph was heady as it rushed through him – _triumph_ and a rush of heat that burned through his veins with an unexpected potency. Slowly, willing to savor instead of take, he brushed his lips against hers, wanting to taste her acceptance, to feel her willingness. Instead, she rose up on her toes and pressed against him, fingers sliding into his hair before dragging sharply down the back of his neck.

Sakura couldn't get close enough – even with Itachi's hands buried near-painfully in her hair and their mouths pressing hard enough to bruise. Pulling back for a deep lungful of air, she ran her hands down his spine and digging into the firm muscles of his lower back, she put just enough chakra into her movements so that when she shifted forward he staggered backwards with her. She heard his sharply drawn breath – felt the way his muscles coiled – and rose up on her toes to press against the firm line of jaw when he hit the curved edge of the two counters. The sudden barrier gave her leverage and she pressed herself eagerly along the front of him, pushing her hands under his shirt to feel the smooth skin of his sides.

The glittering of the sharingan as he parted his lashes was the only warning she had before he leaned down and caught her lower lip between his teeth and _tugged_ before curling his hands along her hips and lifting her off her heels. Gasping, she dug her fingers into his sides as he spun her suddenly, settling her on the edge of the counter and stepping in-between her legs, hooking one arm around her waist before the other returned to her hair – pulling her hips closer while he lowered his mouth to hers and _took_.

Sakura wrapped her legs around his waist eagerly in response, working on ridding him of that shirt. She made an impatient noise against his mouth when he refused to move back to accommodate her, and the shirt became a casualty of war. Then – of course then – the impossible man shifted, tracing hot kisses down the side of her neck while the hand not occupied with angling her head by her hair cupped her ass to move her closer, shifting her over himself just _so_ – and Sakura gasped, arched her back, and pushed further into him.

The warmth of his skin was heady – it was hard to think, hard to _breathe_ like this – and she wanted her own shirt gone. Wanted to press against that heat without the thin barrier between them. Tugging on his hair, she rolled her hips into his and smiled at the hiss of breath that escaped him. She leaned back, using his palm to steady her and spoke between short, panting breaths.

"Too. Many. _Clothes_."

He made a rumbling noise of agreement low in his throat and she shivered as he fisted his hand in the back of her shirt and tug it up, working to remove it without actually letting go of her. Locking her legs behind his waist, she angled her head to meet that sharp, hungry gaze and, knowing the reaction it would get, deliberately pressed the palms of her hands below his collarbones before dragging them down the line of his sternum and digging her nails lightly into the tight muscles of his abdomen.

He jerked her back to his mouth with a hungry noise that made her skin break out in Goosebumps and she gasped at the sudden, purposeful wandering of his hands. The rest of their clothes quickly disappeared in a flurry of ripped fabric and all that was left was the hot rush of skin and touch.

X

Sometime the next day, Sakura found herself once again searching for her teammates. There were a few things that needed straightening out, and she was determined that they wouldn't have to hear it second-hand. Of course, she got a later start than she wanted thanks to wandering hands and intense eyes and so, of course, she missed their morning practice session. But that meant she could find them at the ramen stand, and find them she did.

"Finally decided to show up, eh?" Naruto slurped his ramen loudly.

Sasuke's dark eyes flicked up and over her, assessing. She met his look unashamed, even if she was uncomfortably aware of what he'd find there and – brother. Awkward.

Indeed, Sasuke looked faintly ill and pushed his ramen bowl slightly away.

Her eyes narrowed. Screw _that_. He'd just have to get used to it. She moved to sit down at the end, blocking their escape.

"Good morning to you too!" She said, refusing to let Naruto and Sasuke ruin the giddy bubble she'd been in for the last… hours. However many hours. "How was practice?"

Naruto held up his finger. "Ah ah, you know the rules. You sit, you eat."

Sakura wondered if it was possible to die from sodium overdose and why Naruto hadn't managed it yet. Smiling sweetly, she waved over at Ayumi and mouthed her order before turning to give Naruto a dirty look. Treating her like she'd never been there before.

"Don't make me hit you."

Sasuke glanced at her and Sakura blinked when he turned back to the ramen in front of him and took a careful, precise bite. Eyes narrowing – Sasuke was one of the many reasons why there was at least one option besides ramen each day on the menu – she leaned forward and pressed her elbow on the counter to spin her stool so she was facing her teammates.

"The reason why Itachi became autonomous from the clan was because I told him I would never marry into it."

Sasuke choked on his ramen. Naruto's eyes widened comically and he began enthusiastically pounding Sasuke on the back. Sakura leaned back slightly, watching both of them. So much for tact and careful planning. Now that she'd started she'd have to keep going. She waited just long enough for whatever lodged in Sasuke's throat to become disengaged – he'd need all the air possible going to his brain.

"We're engaged. I know you're upset with the way that—"

"WHAT?"

That was Naruto, and Sakura winced. She was pretty sure Gaara heard that over in Suna. She looked from him, to Sasuke, whose posture was very, very tense… and who appeared to be coiling chakra.

She slammed a hand down on the table, rattling their dishes. "You heard me – I'm getting married. Sasuke's going to be the best man, so Naruto that leaves you to be the maid of honor – and you're going to be happy for me, because I am _happy_."

Naruto gaped at her and the chakra went out in barely a flicker. Sasuke looked like she had sucker-punched him but Naruto's eyes were starting to _burn_ and she was pretty sure his hair was standing completely on end.

"Like _hell_ I'm going _to be the bridesmaid_!"

Sakura allowed a tiny smirk to curl her lips. "Just think of Ino and the glee she's going to get picking out your dress."

Naruto spluttered, hand going to fist in his hair. "Are you _crazy_! She'll _kill me. _Are you _insane_? Sasuke is the pretty one. Make _him_ wear the dress."

Sasuke had his eyes squeezed shut in that familiar, pained expression that said he was trying to pretend that the entire situation wasn't happening. Since Naruto was still fumbling with his words, Sakura took a deep breath and reached over and touched his hand. His eyes snapped open.

"Sasuke? He did this for you too, you know."

Something infinitesimal eased about his shoulders, and Sakura took that as her cue to move forward. It wasn't as if Itachi had _said_ any of this, but Sakura had first-hand experience now as to how he manipulated all factors to care for the people he called his own. Sasuke had always been too close to see it. But if she could open his eyes… " Why do you think he's been pushing you to stand on your own? Why do you think he left them no other option but you? They could have elected one of your cousins. But - no, he made sure that it was you. How many times have you raged against your father, but been unable to do anything about it? Now _you can_."

Her voice was low, buried under Naruto's swearing and she had to bite her lip to hide her smile at the way his eyes widened at the edges. She let him consider that for a moment, saw him loosen just a fraction as he finally recognized what she'd needed Ino to point out.

She shifted forward, using her hair to hide her next words from everyone but Sasuke. "Think about how many blocks he has now removed from Naruto becoming Hokage."

Sasuke blinked and frowned but before he could say anything – there was so little they could actually say about this here – Naruto suddenly made a deep, frustrated noise. His hands were still buried in his hair and he was staring at them with wide, betrayed blue eyes.

"Wait, wait, _wait_! Sakura is marrying _Itachi_. Itachi is your _brother_. You actually get Sakura _as a sister_! _How is that fair_?"

There was a moment of silence and Sakura's shoulders slumped with relief – if _that_ was his only objection then everything would be all right.

And then Sasuke smirked. "But _you_ get to be the maid of honor."

_The End_

* * *

_**Please comment**_

_**X**_

When we started this story, in our delusion, we figured we'd wrap it up in somewhere around 10 chapters. All we really wanted to do was write something that show cased a realistic piece about Sakura/Itachi without taking away the awesome that is Time-Skip-Sakura or making Itachi nice. Or completely unfeeling. Or some random version of shinobi/bloodlustingvampire. (You get the picture.)

Little did we know! 25 chapters and roughly 360 pages later, we've completed _Way of the Wind_. The main story bulk is finished. However, in our many and extensive plot conversations involving this little AU-Spin Off, we had to do a lot of work on the cannon. This eventually led to conversations about post-story cannon so that we knew what we were building towards even if we didn't manage to put it in here.

And some of those conversations have eaten our brains. So even though this story is finished, there are a series of one-shots that will probably be written and posted separately to continue a few of our plot points. So keep your eyes open for those in the future!

And even as we have been on a great journey together - we've sincerely appreciated every review, every bit of fanart, and all the fun times we've had. Honestly, we started this as a lark - and never anticipated the result we received. So thank you so, so much for your fantastic reviews and honest appreciate – it's meant the world.

Just Enough


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